Hurricane
by DoomedSometimes
Summary: After their epic fight, Norma and Alex are left to deal with the aftermath of their choices, and their feelings for each other. Will they survive the storm?
1. Calm Before the Storm

**A/N: First, I'd like to thank you for your reviews, favs, follows, and PMs on my other stories, including the ones posted as guests who I cannot personally reply to. They're all immensely valuable to me so thanks! Some of you asked for a longer story, and because I'm crazy, here it is. I don't think it will be too long since this is my first multi-chapter story but let's see how it goes. I also thought about not writing it, but now this story is in my head, and it wants out. It takes on and after the events of 408 and 409, but here, Norma is very much alive. I hope you like it.**

* * *

I was certain it would be difficult. I already had an idea the issue had to be threaded, to say the least, delicately. I knew I had to be patient. There was also the possibility she would never forgive me if I went behind her back. But none of this mattered when her safety was in jeopardy. None of it seemed important when all my instincts told me to shield her from harm. Nothing else counted when my training in law enforcement showed me all the clear signs of danger that were right in front of her but that she refused to see. None of it made the slightest difference when my love for her clouded my judgment, in the only way I would let them, by becoming fiercely protective of her. I would do anything to ensure her well-being, even if I had to shield her from her own son. I could never forgive myself if anything happened to her.

That's why I decided to talk to Dylan and, if necessary, get Norman back to Pineview even without her approval. I was not going to sit back and wait till the kid was angry enough with me to deathly struck me, or worse, hurt her in any way.

* * *

Just two weeks of living with Norma have made me an addict. I go to work and her soft perfume seems to follow me all day. When I finally see her at the end of the day I can't stop touching her. Probably is a way to reassure myself that she's real, that she is in fact, here with me and not a mental image conjured up to ease my loneliness. That was before. It's not like I didn't have sex before her. I had women, and not all of them were one night stands, but what I didn't have was connection. Before, sex was just a physical act to fulfill a physiological need. Sex with Norma is different. So much different. But even the smallest form of contact with her has so much more meaning than anything, or anyone, I've experienced before her.

I still remember her surprised face when I stole a kiss from her outside the court the day we got married. Her eyelashes fluttering rapidly and I swore I could see the wheels of her brain trying to form a sentence, and then came her quick "Yeah, I'm fine." If she only knew I felt exactly the way she did. My heart was doing somersaults at the prospect of moving in with her, and also at the terrifying thought. It was both things at the same time: exciting and scary. On the outside I was playing it cool; inside, I was anything but.

Now the kisses come easily. They're given and received with such effortlessness that anyone might think we've been kissing each other for years. But there's still newness to our mutual exploration. Discoveries are made each day.

I've learned some of her beauty rituals. How she puts on makeup every morning and takes it off every night. That she puts on some cream on her face, and also rubs lotion all over her legs every night before going to bed. The first time I witnessed all this I was enthralled by her movements, and then upon touch, by her delicate softness. I even learned to like the smell of jasmine and lilacs on her skin. I'm the first one surprised to realize now I know the names of flowers I didn't care much for before. I've seen by now all the bottles of different sizes and colors she has on her vanity. I've no idea what each of them holds precisely, except a vague notion that some are creams; others are perfume, and a few I recognize as makeup. "Women and their secrets," I think.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn she likes to sing. Sometimes, when she doesn't know I can hear her, I catch her humming some melody to herself while she's cooking or doing laundry. The fact she doesn't realize she's doing it makes me enjoy it even more. She also has a very beautiful voice.

She has learned that what I told her about being an easy roommate is mostly true. Knowing she likes things to be orderly I try my best not to be messy and not to leave my dirty laundry lying on the floor, like I used to do when I lived at the motel. Back then I did it mostly to annoy her. Now it wouldn't be so smart to do that, especially when she's nice enough to want to do all my laundry.

Small differences also show up at nighttime. It takes me longer to fall asleep; she gets drowsy as soon as her head hits the pillow. I'm a light sleeper; she's not. She sometimes murmurs unintelligible words in her sleep, sounding distressed, like something or someone is hurting her. I've learned, mostly by instinct, to calm her down by talking softly to her reassuringly, telling her that everything's fine. I can only imagine the many nightmares that plight her unconscious mind and wish I could take them all away forever.

She wakes up early, but most of the times I do before her, so I like to spend those precious moments simply looking at her. Today I wake up and see her still slumbering next to me, naked under the covers from our lovemaking last night. It makes me smile because the very first few times we had sex she insisted on getting re-dressed afterwards. She said something about not being able to sleep without clothes on just in case of an emergency.

"What if there's an earthquake? Or a fire in the house?" She said one of those nights when I questioned her about it, out of mere curiosity.

"Then you grab your robe and run."

"I'd rather have more clothes on than just a robe." She was not completely convinced.

"What if we want to have sex again in the morning?"

"Well, I guess we take off our clothes again." She said as a perfectly good plan.

"Seems like a waste of time to me." I told her.

But after a few nights I finally convinced her. Or maybe she got tired of my nagging. I found adorable how she would roll her eyes at me when she caught me smiling while I watched her putting her sleeping clothes back on. Whatever the reason, she doesn't bother with it anymore.

This morning I appreciate her naked state and roll over onto my side to nuzzle her ear. I start to run my hand along the length of her bare back, putting a little pressure on it, so she feels it. I keep touching her and kissing her ear and shoulder until she finally awakes and turns around, exposing her breasts with the change of position. I start kissing her and she kisses me back.

We've also learned that we can't get enough of each other. I wonder if this honeymoon phase will pass. I don't have any intention of stopping. We roll and twist around in bed, both of us semi-entangled in the white sheets. We're side by side, she hikes her leg high up on my hip, and I take the opportunity to run my hand up and down her thigh. My own legs intertwined with hers. She's holding my face with both her hands and kissing me. I take one of her hands and put it over her head and at the same time roll us over with me on top of her. She's making little sounds, tiny moans and sighs that are rapidly arousing me. I need her now.

Long minutes pass before we both reach our climax. I'm looking down at her and waiting for her to regain her normal breathing. She opens her eyes and looks at me. Her beaming smile reaching her eyes.

"Good morning." She says in a happy childlike tone.

"Very good morning." I answer her and we both laugh.

Moments later she asked for my help zipping up her dress. Then I found her at the basement, excitedly making plans for home improvements, and I told her my secret. I told her about Bob Paris' money. Told her she could use all of it because she deserved some good breaks. That's the least I could do for her. She thanked me although not entirely convinced, but she seemed moved by my gesture.

But that same morning her son called. I answered the phone. Then heard as she invented a half lie as to why I was at her house so early in the morning. I stood there listening to the tone of her voice changing dramatically. Norman wanted to come home.

There's a phrase that goes "the calm before the storm." It is used to describe the time when, even though the storm is on its way, there's stillness in the air. The skies are still blue and the sun is still shining. You still feel optimistic that maybe the storm won't come, or if it does, that it won't be so bad. You cling to that bit of hope. But over in the ocean the storm is brewing, and is getting bigger, and faster, and stronger. And it is coming your way. You should never underestimate the will of a hurricane. I should've known the storm was closing in on us.

* * *

"Alex, please. Please, please, please. Don't be mad at me. Please, you can't be mad. I can't stand it, please, don't be mad." She begged me while she came running into my arms that night.

I hugged her. Felt her desperation. I couldn't stay mad at her for long. I was mad at myself at my own weakness towards her. I couldn't say no to her.

Just two days ago we were living a simple, normal, happy life. Sure, she is always worrying about her son, and I try to empathize with her even though I'm not a parent, as I tell her. I've never been one. I tell her I'll try to be, at least, a father figure to Norman. I know he's a young man already, but I also know his own father was never decent enough to be for him the slightest bit of a role model. I'm willing to try to be there for him too.

Of course I'm not happy about the fact she went and told him he could come home. She didn't ask for my opinion before reaching her decision and it hurt. I'm trying to be there for her but sometimes she just goes and does her own thing without thinking about consequences, like now.

Her stubbornness is so frustrating sometimes.

* * *

The dinner didn't go as planned. What was supposed to be a welcome dinner for Norman, and a somewhat test drive for all of us, turned into a full on display of passive aggressiveness and later on, rage on Norman's part. Norma went from sweet and slightly nervous, to defensive at him and protective at me and us, to dismissive of my own worries by the end of the evening.

After my stepson swung an ax at me, I told her I'd stay at the house for the night. There is no way I'd go back to my old place like she has asked me to do after witnessing what I just did. She said I had to sleep on the couch so as not to unsettle Norman even more. I felt a slight headache forming at my temples but I acquiesced to her plea.

I didn't sleep at all that night. Stayed vigilant and ready to react to any movement or sound above me on the second floor. Walked halfway up the stairs a few times during the night, seeing the two doors to the bedrooms closed, only silence coming from both rooms. The long hours of the night too many and not enough for me to put my thoughts, and my suspicions and worries, in order.

When morning arrived she came downstairs and offered her own interpretation for what had happened. Tried to bargain with me how we should manage this. Told me this was hard for Norman, for all of us, but that now we were past the worst. But I was not seeing things the same way she did. I told her that. Before another fight started, this time between us, I decided to go to work. She kissed me goodbye and I left, not before noticing Norman was watching us from above the stairs.

By the afternoon, I arrived back at the station after having talked to Dylan, when my assistant announced that my wife was waiting for me at my office.

As soon as I see her, standing up in the middle of my office, her posture rigid and ready to attack, I knew this wasn't going to be a social visit.

"How dare you?" She says as a greeting.

"What?" Is the only way I can answer, I have no idea what she's talking about.

"How dare you go behind my back to my own son to try and get Norman taken away from me. Who the hell do you think you are?" Her tone rising.

"Someone that loves you and is worried about you. And Norman."

I try to reason with her; try to diffuse the bomb before it explodes.

"That's nice that that's how you frame it in your head but how it looks from here is that you're an incredible presumptuous and arrogant man who thinks he knows what's best for me and my son." She says becoming angrier by the second and I realize her words are starting to sting me.

"I'm sorry you see it that way." I hope she can hear the sincerity in my voice.

"No one who loves me could ever do this to me." She accuses.

I will not let her turn this into something about me. "No. That's where you're wrong. He's dangerous."

"He's my son! You don't think I would know if he was dangerous?"

"He had an ax in his hand and he wanted to kill me." I say as the anger in me also starts to rise, but I try to keep it locked in, deal with her as level headed as I possibly can.

"Yeah well, are you dead?"

I cannot believe she just said that. But also, I can. The thick veil of her denial is ever present.

She continues defending her son's actions. "The point is he didn't, he was angry. He took it out on the shed and on my door."

There's a pause. The air hanging dense between us.

"You know, we were happy when we were in a bubble. But life isn't a bubble. You know, the second that a little reality crept in, that was it for you. Bam, so much for the stupid bubble." Her voice sounds different now. Not accusatory but matter of fact. Like she is saying the truest truth of all. But I also catch a glimpse of sadness in her voice.

"You can spin it however you want, Norma. It doesn't make it the truth. You just… you can't see clearly here 'cause this is about Norman."

If she only knew how wrong she is about all this. If only I can make her understand.

"Yeah because he's my son! You're gonna plant yourself on a mountain like you're God and tell me how things work, with my son?" Her anger has reached peak levels. I can see her eyes glaring, her nostrils flaring, the fire barely contained within her. She's like a wild animal.

Then her next words are said calmly but they hurt like a hot knife is splitting my chest in half.

"Wrong. You crossed over a line, and you are never crossing back. I will never trust you again."

"You left me no choice." I tell her.

"You left me none." She says and leaves.

I look one last second at her disappearing form and then turn around and flip all the contents on my desk to the floor; rage and frustration and disbelief all taking a hold of me. But I'm at work, and after a few deep breaths, I take control of my emotions again.

Our first fight. It also feels like the last one. The finality of her words echoing in my brain like a damn broken record.

"I will never trust you again…"

I went to my old house after work, sat there nursing a glass of whiskey for the longest time. Thinking about her. About what will I do now with a very angry and hurt Norma in my hands. How could I possibly make her forgive me, and more importantly, believe me when I say Norman needs to be back in Pineview? That she is not safe with him.

I look at my watch and I'm surprised to see is 8 p.m. already. Not a phone call or a message from her yet. I haven't reached out either. But there's a sense of unease. Just last night I said I wouldn't leave her alone in the house with Norman, and now I feel like a hypocrite for doing that very same thing. I should go check on her. Maybe she will scream at me to leave, or maybe she will cry in my arms and beg me to forgive her. I doubt the latter will happen but nonetheless, I get up and head to her house. Our house.

I arrive and everything's too dark. It's too early for them to have gone to bed already. I knock on the door, no answer, so I use my key to let myself in. My senses are on high alert but there are no sounds, no lights, and no smells of food having being cooked. Something's not right.

I go up to her bedroom, skipping Norman's room altogether, and open the door.

There's no one here.

* * *

TBC...


	2. Path of Destruction

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews so far! Also, I forgot to add this at the end of chapter 1: I'm not the only one who has spotted Norma's jar of Pond's face cream on top of her vanity ever since season 1, right? So yeah, she uses it and that's what I was referring to in chapter 1 ;)**

* * *

After the first shock of not finding her in her bedroom, I go and search the whole house. She's not here. Neither is Norman. It is only now I realize I didn't see her car parked outside either. I go back to her bedroom, looking for clues, and that's when I see it. I must've run out of the room too fast to have not seen it before, for there it is. On top of her vanity, there's an envelope with my name written on it in Norma's distinctive and elegant handwriting. I reach for it and open it with shaky hands. My eyes scanning quickly her written note I find inside it.

"Dear Alex –

I will always love you, no matter what. I'm truly sorry.

Love, Norma."

The wedding ring I gave her two weeks ago, the one that made her eyes go wide with surprise, is also inside the envelope.

"What the hell is this?" I ask to myself. There's no explanation as to where she's gone, or why she has done this. Of course that would've defeated the purpose of her leaving like this.

My thoughts are trying to win a race, my personal emotions mixed with the logical steps I should take in order to make sense of this. I'm enraged she has left. Where the hell did she go? Why? Was this her idea, or Norman's? But my instincts kick in. I pull out my cell phone and dial.

I wait for her to pick at the other side of the call. No answer. I figured. I hear her voice but is only the greeting for her voice mail and as soon as the beep ends I leave a hasty message, trying to sound calm amongst the rush of blood I feel in my head, and I hear my own fake calm voice saying: "Norma. Please call me. As soon as you hear this. We need to talk."

Second call is to the patrol division at the station.

"Hey, this is Romero." I announce as soon as someone picks up. "I need to put out an APB on a light green Mercedes, early 70s, 300D, license plate THT 124, Oregon."

"Isn't that your wife's car?" deputy McAdams says when she hears the information I give her.

"Yes, it is. Listen, I don't want her to be arrested, I just want to have a lookout for her. She's, uh… missing at the moment." I say running my hand through my head.

"Add that the occupants of the vehicle are a white female in her early 40s, 5'7", blonde, blue eyes; and a white male, 18 years old, around 5'8", brown hair, blue eyes. If anybody else is driving that car, arrest them on the spot." I order.

I hang up the phone and look around one more time. Her travel bag is not on its usual spot. I open her closet doors; she didn't take all her clothes, but there are pieces missing; empty hangers. Same for her drawers and shoes; there are spaces now in where her stuff was before. I have no idea what she took or not. Just that she must have packed in a hurry.

And then I remember the money. My heart is pumping fast. Not because of the money, I gave it to her, is hers to use and spend; but because I suddenly realize if she took all that cash she will have enough to never come back, and I can't bear the thought of it. I go searching for the bag, running downstairs to the basement, and find it exactly where I placed it almost two weeks ago. When I open it I am relieved to see most of the cash still in there. If she took money out of it, which I'm sure she did, she couldn't have taken more than five grand. Not much else is missing from it.

A sigh of respite leaves my body. She may not have left with the intention of staying away forever after all. I touch my jacket, the inside pocket where I stuffed her note, and in the process feel my heart wildly thumping against my chest. I feel suddenly very thirsty. My throat is dry as if I just spent three weeks without water. I go up to the kitchen, pour myself a glass, and drink it up in a gulp. I put the glass down on the kitchen countertop with so much force that it breaks in my hand. I look down at my hand and see a small but deep cut; a flowing rivulet of blood slowly pouring out of it. I look at it but feel nothing.

"Norma." I voice my only thought out loud and have to close my eyes at the burning sensation of tears that want to come out. I need to find her.

* * *

Three hours later and I've driven around the entire town. Each corner, every establishment, each motel thoroughly searched. Wherever she may be, she's not in White Pine Bay. I've gone back to my old place. I have as many officers patrolling the streets as I can. If she or her car were to be seen somewhere I'll know in a minute.

I take a shower, try to eat the sandwich I bought before but I can't, and settle for a drink. My mind re-playing her last words to me.

"I will never trust you again."

The rain outside is soft but non-stop. Reminds me of the night I met her. It had been raining that night too, but when is it not in White Pine Bay? I can close my eyes now and still see her like she was that night; fresh and smiling even though it was past midnight. How from that very first moment I found her extremely gorgeous and highly dangerous. I wasn't suspecting of her that night, no. That came after we found Keith Summer's truck left in a path next to her house, and his hand floating in the river.

I found her highly dangerous because her eyes seemed like two deep pools full of secrets. Because behind the obvious beauty of those big blue eyes I could also sense there was too much hidden, buried, and concealed. At the time I thought it impossible for someone to be that mysterious; but that thought flew out the window by the third time I talked to her. She was a complete enigma and I found myself entangled in her web of secrets and half-baked lies faster than I wanted to admit.

But then I learned things while investigating her. She was not as dangerous as she seemed at first; she was just used to fighting back. By the time I decided to cover up, and to commit crimes for her, I was already enthralled by her and her mesmerizing beauty, and her completely chaotic life. My curiosity about how her sons seemed to always be in the center of some major town drama adding to the conundrum that was her.

The rain is picking up strength outside. I think about the other night, just merely a week ago, after we've already turned all the lights out, and were snuggling in bed while a sudden lighting storm had started outside. How every time the sound of the thunder came, she jumped slightly, even after the light had already announced its following sound.

"Are you scared?" I had asked while I hugged her to me.

"I love rain, but I hate thunders." Came her soft, childlike voice, and I knew without looking she was pouting.

"You do know the thunder is just sound, right? That it can't hurt anyone. The lighting striking is where the danger actually is." I explained like I was explaining it to a child, even though she probably already knew the mechanics of a lighting storm.

"Yes, but even knowing it's coming, I can't help but be scared of the outcome." She had sighed and snuggled more into me, seeking warmth and I like to think, the security my arms could offer her.

Seems fitting that is raining tonight too. I knew what was coming and just like rain, I couldn't stop it. I saw my love growing for her like a giant wave crashing into the shore. I could see my devotion to her coming at the speed of light, and I was helpless to do anything to stop it. Even if I could, I wouldn't have anyway.

I've done things for her. I've killed for her. I married her. Have known her for two years, but only in the past two weeks have I learned everything there was to learn about her. All the secrets I somehow knew where there, behind her gaze, are now my knowledge too. And I love her. I loved her before; I love her even more now.

I need to see her again. This can't end like this. She can't disappear like a cloud leaving all the heavy rain and then not coming back. I won't allow it. She's not safe. Not with him. Not out there God knows where. You're supposed to protect the ones you love from themselves even if they hate you for it.

She's the perfect storm in my life. All giant waves, and scary wind blowing, and magnificent thundering shining light into the night. She is hurricane Norma, Category 5. I'd rather die in the path of her destruction than live the rest of my life in the boring calm without her.

* * *

The sound of my phone ringing wakes me up. I fell asleep on the sofa, drink in hand, and dreamt about Norma and rain. I look at my watch before answering, it's 6 a.m.

"Hello?"

"Sheriff, we found the car."

I run out the door.

* * *

When I arrive in Portland, some of my officers are already at the site.

"Sheriff." Officer Samuels says to me as soon as I step out of my SUV.

"Do we have eyes on them? Where's the owner? Have we searched the adjacent areas?"

Most of the information was given to me while I drove. The car was spotted in the parking lot of the Rose Motel, Norma and Norman had registered for the night, they were not at the motel at the time the car was spotted by Portland officers this morning, and apparently, nobody has seen them.

"No, Sheriff. They have not been found. The owner has been called. We searched a five miles radio." I hear him answer my list of questions.

I look at the Mercedes, perfectly parked outside the motel, doors are locked, no signs of forced entry shown. Make my way to the office. There's a young woman behind the counter, looking already too nervous about everything's going on.

"Hi, I'm Sheriff Romero, from White Pine Bay." I say nodding at her as a greeting. "Were you here last night? When did your shift start? Miss…" I look at her name tag. "Stephanie."

"Ummm, no, I was not working last night. I started today at 7 a.m."

"Who worked the night shift last night?" I ask her.

"Mr. Green. He's the owner." She says looking at officer Samuels.

"He's on his way over here." He informs me.

"You said you started working today at 7 a.m. What time did you arrive? Did you see anyone getting in or out of that car?" I point at the Mercedes outside.

"No, I arrived at 6:55 a.m. Was actually running a little late. Mr. Green doesn't like when I arrive late, so I parked my car at the back and got in the office as fast as I could. I didn't see anyone."

"Sheriff Romero?" Another agent calls for my attention.

I turn around and see an older, bald, round small man who doesn't look too happy about being here.

"Mr. Green?" He nods.

"I'm Sheriff Romero. We need information on two guests in your motel. Norma Bates and her son Norman Bates. We know they checked in last night, around 10 p.m., as your records show."

He looks at Stephanie and she says "I had to show them. They're the police."

"Yes? So if you already know they're checked in, why you need me?" He asks me.

"Because they're not in their room and nobody else has seen them aside from you. Did you see anything suspicious last night? Did anybody else come with them? Did you see if they received visitors? Did they say anything about where they might be going?"

"Whoa, wait a minute. Too many questions at once. I'm an old guy. Let me look at the book and see if I remember anything more." He moves to stand behind the counter, Stephanie moves to the side, and he starts looking at the computer and at the registry book.

"Mr. Green…" I start and he interjects me with a question of his own.

"Are they dangerous? These two people?"

"No, not at all. Please answer my questions. Is there anything else you remember?"

"Oh yes. They came in last night just as I was going to close up the office. You see, I was not supposed to be here, but the young man, Charlie, who works at nights, had called in sick. I had no one else to find in such short notice, so I came down to handle the office myself. Yes, it was about 10 when they came in."

I'm quickly losing my patience. I look at officer Samuels and he looks back at me and at Mr. Green with a slightly apprehensive expression on his face.

"Uh, no, sorry." Mr. Green continues as he notices our exchange. "I don't think I have any more information on them. They arrived; they seemed like nice people, very polite. He kept calling her 'mother' and she didn't say much. She just smiled at me after I checked them in. I told them I was closing the office for the night, asked if they needed anything else, they said no. Pretty lady, that's for sure. Yes, very pretty." He finishes up.

"Did they pay cash?"

"Yes."

"Ok, thanks, Mr. Green. I'm going to ask you to please give us a call if you remember anything else. My officers will give you our numbers."

I walk to the second floor, where their room is, and where two officers are already waiting for me. "Sheriff. There's nothing inside." Still I enter and only see a bed that has clearly been slept in and nothing else. No clothes, no personal items, no food leftovers, nothing.

I leave them to finish the investigation at the motel and head out. I feel the need to drive around. An hour later I get another call from one of the officers.

"Yes?"

"Sheriff, we opened the car as you ordered. We found something."

"What? What did you find?"

"Two cell phones in the glove compartment. They've been turned off. There's nothing else inside the car."

"Ok, bring them to the Downtown Portland station. Thanks."

At the station, phone calls are made, others agencies are being contacted. I've had to explain that no, there's no reason to believe this is a kidnapping, and no, they're not dangerous. She's my wife and her son, and they're just missing. I've managed to put everyone's suspicions off them by mentioning she has a problematic brother and that I'm worried she might be running from him. I add his name and physical description to the APB just in case. I also throw in the fact the kid has medical issues, and that I'm very worried his health might be in jeopardy by skipping doctor's appointments or his meds. The day has not been easy.

Hours later I'm already checked into another motel in Portland. I'm not leaving this city yet. They were here. She might still be here and I'm not leaving without her.

The night is even worse. I'm used to being alone. My whole adult life I've been by myself, although many women have shared my bed, I was happy to sleep and wake up unaccompanied. Less drama, less expectations that way. Now the loneliness is consuming me. I toss and turn in this horrible motel bed and my mind keeps bringing back the memory of her face. To how her eyes shine when she smiles. To how angry they were the last time I looked at them. I find myself desperate for her touch, wanting nothing more than a kiss from her mouth, but not being able to achieve rest if she is not with me. I want to smell her hair again, to protect her every day of my life as I promised I'd do. Till death do you part.

When sleep comes it is restless. When I wake up the next morning it is a disappointment. I had her in my arms, I heard her laugh, and I made love to her. But as I look at my surroundings I realize it was just a dream.

The next day I arrange for her car to be towed back to White Pine Bay.

She has done this before. Run away from her circumstances when they have proved to be impossible to live with. I met her because she had moved to start a whole new life in White Pine Bay. I won't make her come back to me if she doesn't want to. But I will do my damn best to make sure she's safe. She may be a runner, but I will find her.

* * *

TBC…


	3. Landfall

**A/N: Thanks for all your reviews and messages. I'm sorry I scared you with the suspense. Hope this one makes up for it a little bit. ;) It was very hard to write because I'm trying to explore feelings with this story, and human emotions are hard to explain, so I'm very anxious about posting all this, but wouldn't leave you hanging now. Also, for the sake of this story the events on these following two chapters are happening in November. Hope you like it!**

* * *

"Mother?"

"In here!" I turn around from the pancake mix I'm making and look at him. He's already dressed in his work uniform and I look at him confused.

"Norman? It's only 7 a.m. I thought you didn't have to go into work until 10."

"Oh. I didn't tell you last night because you've already gone to bed. But Mr. Arellano called me late yesterday and asked if I could go in earlier today. They need some more help with the shutters and the pool chairs. And I said yes." I hear him explain with enthusiasm.

"Ok, sweetie. But you have time for breakfast, right?"

"No, mother. I'm sorry, but I'm heading out. I'll eat something in the big house later today." He says and gives me a kiss on my forehead.

"Oh, ok, bye." I sigh with a little disappointment as he goes out the door and I put the batter in the fridge. I don't want to make pancakes just for one. I pour myself a cup of coffee instead and sit down to check the morning news on TV. I don't have to go in until 10 anyway.

After 15 minutes I turn off the TV. Every local channel seems to be saying the same thing: the storm is coming. Actually, they've upgraded it to a hurricane in the last couple of days and its name is Louise. Just my luck. Everybody is taking all the necessary precautions for it: shutters are being put up, buying supplies, non-perishable food, bottled water, batteries, etc. etc. It's all making my head spin. Who knew moving to Florida could be so annoying.

I finish making the beds and tidying mine and Norman's rooms and put a load of laundry in the washing machine although there's not much to wash anyway, our clothes not many these days. The work uniforms really help a lot, since we don't have to wear our own clothes all day, hence less laundry for me to do.

There's one shirt I don't wash though. The dark blue plaid shirt I wore last night to bed, and had changed out of it before stepping out of my bedroom this morning, so Norman wouldn't see me wearing it. I packed it with my own clothes in the midst of the hurry that night and I won't wash it because it still smells like him. Like Alex.

I bring it to my face, inhaling the lingering scent of him, and hug it to my chest the way I wish I were hugging him. Leaving that night was one of the hardest things I've done in my life, aside from convincing Norman to accept to be committed that fateful night to Pineview. I don't think there's one decision I've agonized more over it. I'm still not sure I did the right thing but it's done.

My eyes fill up with tears. When I'm alone and I know Norman can't see me or hear me is when I cry. I cry for the life I left behind, for the man I love and lost, for the son who scares me but that I have to take care of. I feel like a fugitive, I know I left like a fugitive, even though I had committed no crime. My crime seems to be love. I love my son too much so I have to protect him. I love Alex too much so is better I leave him so he won't separate me from my son, so he won't make me choose between him and my son. I couldn't bear any of those scenarios.

I take a long, deep, calming breath, and dry my tears on my sleeve. Carefully put his shirt back in the second drawer and start getting ready for my own work shift. This storm will pass through and everything will be back to normal soon.

Before 10 a.m. I head out of the little house. That's how Norman and I call where we currently live. It's just a small pool house really, secluded behind the big house and rows of palm trees and lots of beautiful plants and trees, small but perfect for us for now with its two bedrooms, bathroom, small kitchen and living area. It is also not precisely in front of the big pool, which is on the other side of the property, the main attraction of the big house. Although I don't understand why some people would prefer a pool to the perfect beach just merely feet outside the property.

I walk around the pool on my way to the big house and see Norman and Mr. Arellano, the owner of the place, and the other younger people working on putting all the lounge chairs away and I wave at Norman as I pass by. We were lucky to find work at this place and so quickly. Our experience in hospitality and management, although short (but nobody needed to know that), proving to be very useful at impressing our future employers. So now instead of owning my own motel in Oregon, I work as a cook and housekeeper at a beautiful B&B in Florida.

The work is hard; the two stories big house a complete functioning B&B of 40 rooms, its bathrooms, balconies, plus common areas, lobby, stairs, and very big kitchen, proved to be enough to render me tired and spent by the time my shift ended at 6 p.m. I welcomed it though. Work is the only thing keeping my brain from reminding me what I left behind in White Pine Bay.

"Good morning." I say as soon as I enter the kitchen to the other two women who work the early breakfast shift. They also stay to prepare lunch, which is when I come in to help, before I set out to clean the rooms.

"Hi, Norma." Anna answers me. "Are you ready for your first hurricane?"

"I think so, yes." I say without much thought.

"You've been here for almost a month and hurricane season is almost over. I guess the East coast had to welcome you, or scare you away." She says with a big smile.

If she only knew the things that I've seen, that I've been through, she wouldn't think a hurricane would scare me. But I don't say much more. I keep mostly to myself, only having said the necessary information to get the job, and not engaging into lengthy conversations with anyone. They only know I'm here with my son, and that we moved here from Oregon, after we had to close down due to economic reasons the motel we owned.

Nobody knows I'm married, and that I left my husband without telling him where I was going, or that we took a flight into Miami and then took a bus up here, trying to find a place to live and work that was not as obvious a choice as the too loud for my taste 'capital of the sun'. They don't know Norman has medical issues or that he takes meds (which I don't know where I'll get next month's dose from), or that there are bodies buried back home, both figuratively and literally. To the nice people who work at the Beachfront B&B in Saint Augustine, we're just a perfectly normal mother and son.

By three o'clock all the rooms are cleaned. I've heard the other employees all day talking about going home early to finish putting up shutters, or going to fill their gas tanks, or buying some other essential thing. I wonder how these people live in a hurricane prone zone but leave so many things to do for the last minute. Supposedly the storm will make landfall tonight.

Thankfully, I don't have to worry about making any preparations; the owners of the B&B are taking care of all that, since the pool house is their property and their responsibility. I also took some cooked food from the kitchen for our dinner tonight.

"Dear, you cook for the whole place every day! You shouldn't have to go home to cook again for just you and your boy. You can take whatever you need from the kitchen. In fact, I insist." Mrs. Arellano, wife and co-owner, has said to me once. She is a maternal woman, Hispanic as many people around here are, and very nice. And she has taken a liking to me and Norman. As he said to me back home, we are very charming people.

Sometimes I like to cook something different just for the two of us but most times I take Mrs. Arellano's advice. The pay for the work is not incredibly high, but since I don't have to pay rent or spend a lot on food I'm okay with it. I already spent a big part of the money I took from Alex's, or rather Bob Paris', on our travel fare, and I was grateful that I could hold on to what's left. You never know when you'll need it. Maybe I can find a place where I can buy Norman's meds without prescription and use the money for that.

I get in the little house and put the food I brought in the kitchen. Even though I finished my chores early and was let go for the day because of the emergency, Norman is still needed until the end of his. I think I might take a nap before he comes home. I change out of my uniform into one of my dresses and lie down.

Later, waking up abruptly, I look at the clock and see not thirty minutes had passed since I fell asleep; but my heart is beating wildly in my chest. I feel the need to cry, to scream, and wish Alex's strong arms were around me now. The damn bad dreams coming and reminding me I'm alone.

I couldn't live without him now. Not after experiencing what living _with_ him was. Not after feeling his hands over my skin. I thought I could. After all, I've managed to survive after John, after Sam, even after Shelby, after each and every one of them, for different reasons and even more different circumstances, had left my life. But none of them had touched my soul while touching my body. Most of the men before Alex had just left scars and bruises, on my skin and in my heart. But Alex left kisses that made me feel beautiful and cherished; he touched me in a way that burned through my skin to the very core of my being. He told me, again and again, that he loved me. How can I live without that now?

Now my bed is empty as are my nights. My thoughts during the day bring back his face, his loving eyes. But during the nights is when I miss him the most, not only for the satisfaction that his passion would bring me, but also for the late night conversations, the warm hugs and sweet kisses, the loving things he used to whisper in my ear while we were cuddling, waiting to fall asleep. How protected I felt in his company and how utterly alone and exposed I feel now without him.

My thoughts of Alex are making me want things. But he's not here with me and it's been too long. I start to smooth my hand down my body; caressing one breast, imagining it's him, and then lower, down my abdomen, to my thighs, then pulling my dress up, getting closer… and I jump off the bed when the phone rings. I run to answer it.

"Hello?" I say slightly out of breath.

"Mother?" I hear Norman on the other side. "Are you okay? You seem a little short of breath."

"No, honey. Yes! I'm okay. What is it?"

"Just wanted to tell you we're going out to the store. We need some wood panels to finish up closing up the basement".

"What, like now? But the storm is supposed to arrive today!"

"Mother, is supposed to make landfall at night, it's 3:30, we'll make it back before then, don't worry. Just stay inside until I come back, ok?" I hear him say.

"OK, sweetheart. Be careful. And call me if anything happens!" I hang up.

After an hour of total boredom, like most of my days here are, I finally get hungry and eat. Then between the impending stormy night, and waiting for Norman, I'm too anxious to be inside so I decide to go out for a walk. This is the only saving grace for me in this place, the long walks on the beach I take every day. Sometimes I do it with Norman, but most of the times, and when I enjoy it most, is when I'm by myself.

Usually I lose myself walking on the infinite path of white sand, until I realize I've gone too far, only to turn around and walk the same distance back. The beauty of this place is not lost on me. The lovely white big house looming behind the little hill the sand creates. It is winter but this being the south, the air is still nice, not chilly and not too hot, but it is windy today. My cardigan over my spring dress not enough to keep me warm. I look at the horizon and the blue sea. The sky starting to turn a deep purple, shades of purples and blues I've never seen before in my life. So this is what an incoming hurricane looks like.

I'm alone at the beach right now. Not a soul in sight, everyone probably already finding cover from the big scary storm coming. It dawns on me maybe I could scream now, at the tops of my lungs, and no one would hear me. Not with the roar of the waves and the furious sound the wind is making. I could let it all out: the pain, loneliness, all my worries, my fears, and the hurt. All out in one big good scream. But I decide against it, not risking the chance that in fact, somebody might hear, wouldn't want the nice owners of the B&B think that I'm crazy.

So I turn around to keep walking and then I see it. A dark silhouette far away. I suddenly panic. Not sure if I should keep walking, since the shape of the man in black is coming from the house, which is the way I need to be going, or if I should go the other way. But where to? There's no one around for miles. What if this is an attacker? I've seen in the news how women get attacked and killed on beaches like this one, solitary and empty. If I die here, they're all going to think I was stupid to go walking alone on a day like this. What if I scream? I could test if my screams are heard or not.

I look over the shadow again. He is getting closer and I can't seem to be able to breathe. "Oh God, I don't want to die in Florida." I think out loud.

The man keeps getting closer and then something happens, a movement that looks too familiar, and I start walking head on. I hurry my pace, he does too. It can't be. I'm almost running now but the sand gets stuck on my sandals, keeps pulling me down, it won't let me go faster. But somehow we're getting closer. I'm not scared anymore. We're almost ten feet away from each other. There's no mistaking him now.

"Alex." I breathe out his name.

"Norma." I hear him say before my world goes dark.

* * *

I come back to his face hovering over mine. I'm back at the little house, lying on the long beach chair in the balcony.

"What happened?" I ask trying to sit up straight.

"You fainted." He answers me back. "How are you feeling?" I look at him and he looks concerned.

"How did I make it here?"

"I carried you."

"Oh."

"How are you feeling?" He repeats.

"Fine. I'm fine." I get up from the chair and look around and back at him with disbelief.

"How? I mean… when? How?" I try to talk but nothing coherent comes out. "I live here." I say stupidly looking at the little house now.

"I figured. When I asked about you in the lobby they told me I'd found you in the pool house in the back. This is the only house in the back." I look at him still confused, my brain not working properly after the shock of seeing him here. "When I called and nobody answered I thought I'd go check the beach, see if you were there." He explains.

"Umm. Do you want to go inside? It's getting too windy." I offer and he stands up. I go to open the door, which I left unlocked, and I feel him following me close behind.

I turn around, nervously wrapping my arms around myself, and look at him. He looks calm, too calm in fact, and I feel the same sense of dread coming back. I feel queasy. I put a hand on the back of the couch to steady myself.

"So… how are you?" I ask. He laughs but it is mirthless.

"Well, let's see. My wife left without an explanation, took her sick kid with her, a kid who should be in a hospital by the way. Also I've been looking for her for the past month, and when I find her, she has moved across country." He says without an ounce of malice or bitterness.

"Alex. I'm sorry."

"About what?" He says looking me straight in the eyes.

"About everything. About our fight, about leaving, about not doing what you wanted me to do, about hurting you…" I start crying.

"I didn't want you to do what I wanted." He starts saying. "I wanted you to understand that Norman needs to be in Pineview, that he needs constant medical care, until he's at least in a condition to be out. I wanted you to understand that I need you to be safe."

"It's been good for him to be here. He seems happy and relaxed, and he hasn't had a blackout since, and he's being sweet and he's working at the B&B too." I try to make him see that some outcome has been good.

"What about his meds? What about doctors? You know, Pineview contacted me. If he's not back in a week, they're going to give his space to somebody else, and his record will be transferred to County."

"I, I … he has his meds, he's taking them. But… nobody here knows he's sick, I mean, that he's in treatment."

"What happens when you run out of meds? He's not seeing any doctors here, am I right? I thought you married me because you wanted insurance for him. Now it seems to me you're letting it all go to waste." He says and I look at him in shock.

"Alex, please. Don't say that. I'm sorry. I did yes, but you know everything changed. I'm sorry. I couldn't deal with you trying to get Norman away from me. It broke my heart to leave you. It broke my heart to leave. I'm sorry." I'm crying desperately.

I hang my head in shame and regret. My sobs are wracking my body and when I feel like I'm about to faint again, his arms hold me up, and I hold on to him for dear life and cry all my pain into his chest.

After a while, my sobs subside a little and I notice the front of his shirt is wet with my tears. I move my head and suddenly we're in the same position as our first kiss, our first real passionate kiss. My memory brings it all back; the fight I had with Norman that day, the way Alex comforted me, how I kissed him, how he carried me into my bedroom… and I've missed his warmth so much, missed _him_ so much I try to recreate the moment, try to kiss him but he pulls back.

"You don't want me anymore?"

"No, Norma. It's not that. It's just… that's not why I came here for."

"And why did you come here?"

He breaks free of me and moves to the other side of the room.

"What do you think? To check on you, to see if you were okay. You left without an explanation. I needed to know you were safe."

"I thought you might come looking for me." I don't tell him that my biggest hope was that he would.

"Yes, Norma. Of course I would."

"I haven't been unfaithful to you."

"I didn't say you have."

"I know I left. And I took the ring off. But I haven't been with anyone else. I wouldn't do that… again. Not to you."

"It's ok, Norma."

"No! It's not okay. I need you to tell me you believe me. I'm not wearing my ring, but I need you to know in my heart I'm still married, to you. That I will always love you, no matter what. I'm truly sorry."

* * *

TBC…


	4. Thunder and Rain

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews! Even though I can't personally reply to the ones posted as guests, know all your reviews are just as important to me as the ones I can reply to. Thanks for all of them; they really motivate me to keep writing. So here's the climax of the story, in more ways than one ;) Hope you like it.**

* * *

I hear those last words now said out loud, the words she wrote to me in her goodbye note, and I believe her. I believe her because it's the same for me. "I will always love you, no matter what."

We have taken some deep needed breaths to calm ourselves down. There's too much to be said and talking in such a heightened state will not lead us anywhere. She offered to make us tea and left the kettle on while she went to the bathroom. She comes back with her face washed, free of tears.

I watch her intently while she pours the hot liquid into the two mugs; honey for hers, sugar for mine, her movements calm and languid. I missed seeing her roam around in the kitchen, not because of some archaic sexist thing, but because I know she loves being in it. Cooking is her way of taking care of the people she loves. She comes back into the living room offering me one of the mugs and I smile at her and murmur my thanks. She offers me a cautious smile and sits on the far end of the couch opposite where I'm seating on a chair. I can see the rims of her eyes are red from crying. Her nose is too. She is beautiful.

"So, how did you find me?" She asks nervously, her eyes cast down, as if trying to find the meaning of life in the contents of her mug.

"After I found your note that same night…"

"You found it the same night?" She interrupts me looking actually surprised.

"Yes, I went to the house that same night. After our fight… I couldn't not go check on you. So, I found the note, called you, you didn't answer, left you a voicemail…"

"I heard it. I thought about calling you back. But I couldn't…" She stops, seems to be thinking about something, and continues. "And I… Norman and I, we had a plan. I was sure, at the moment, it was the best for all of us."

I decide to let it go for now and continue. "I put an APB on your car, Portland police called me the next morning when they found it at the Rose motel. I stayed in Portland for a couple days, searched the city; hospitals, jails, morgues." I look at her and see her sad expression.

"After a few days I went back to White Pine Bay, and later found your names on the flight manifest. It took me a while because at first I didn't suspect you had flown out of the state. Tried tracing your steps from over there, but after you landed I couldn't find anything else. I got here a week ago, been tracking you down. Then I found you. And you fainted." I smile at her and she smiles faintly back. "So how about you. Why Florida? Why didn't you take all the money?"

"Umm. I, we… Norman and I had talked about going to Hawaii once. It was a long time ago, right after the whole Shelby-Abernathy thing…" She stops and fidgets with the hem of her skirt, not looking at me.

"Anyway, so after we fought I was… devastated. Norman said we could leave, start a new life, and go to Hawaii. Work at a hotel. I thought it was a joke at first, but then I truly thought about it for a moment." Another pause.

"I thought I had lost you." She says looking right at me and I feel like someone just punched me in the gut, the air leaving my lungs momentarily.

She casts her eyes down again. "So I packed and left. Only took a small amount of money because I didn't want you to think I was a thief. It was bad enough I was leaving like a fugitive. Then we arrived in Portland, slept a few hours, left for the airport and there I decided I wanted to come to Florida instead of Hawaii." She says with a shrug of her shoulders. "Don't ask me why."

"How you ended up here?"

"We stayed in Miami for a day but I hated it. Too much noise and too many people. Saw an ad in the paper for this place, they were looking for housekeepers and an assistant manager, I figured we could both do it."

"And you like it here?" I ask, a deeper meaning behind it, and she knows it.

"It's pretty. The work is hard, but I'm not scared of work. Norman seems to like it. I don't know many people, not that I care to anyway. Then there are the hurricanes, I don't know if I could live here for a whole season of this mess." She laughs but just as suddenly her laugh dies.

"I'm lonely." She adds.

"Norma." I hear myself say before I've put down my mug on the table and gone over to her.

* * *

We sit in silence for long minutes. She's settled next to me, her head on my shoulder, while I draw inkless circles down her arm in a soothing motion. I understand her reasons; even though I still think what she did was reckless.

I'm ready to forgive her. But I need to know she's either coming back with me or letting me take Norman back to Pineview. I may lose her, but at least I'll know she'll be safe. I don't trust Norman with her.

"Oh my God, what time is it?" She asks and moves away from me.

"Uh, 6 p.m." I say looking at my watch.

"Norman hasn't come back! He went with Mr. Arellano to buy some stuff. He was supposed to be back by now." She rises and goes to the kitchen and reaches for the phone on the wall.

"Hello? Norman? Where the hell are you?" She listens, then. "Oh my God. I will go pick you up. … I'll ask Mrs. Arellano for a car. … I don't know! Norman… Norman!"

"What happened?"

"He says the store was chaos, so they drove to another one further down the road. Now they're one hour away from here. He doesn't know where he is exactly. He doesn't know the area that well. Neither do I actually." She looks stressed out and is already pacing. She goes to the door, opens it to the balcony.

Wind rushes in, the smell of rain in the air, skies dark. "And now this damn storm has picked up!" She is almost hysterical.

"Norma. Where is he? I can go pick him up." I say while standing up.

"You would do that?" Her shocked face tells me she thinks I hate the poor kid. I mean, granted, he's not my favorite person in the world right now, but I wouldn't leave him out in the cold rain, literally.

"Yes. Just give me an address. I'll put it on the GPS."

"Oh. Thank you!" She goes back to the kitchen to write something on a piece of paper and hands it over to me. "Here. Let me get my purse and an umbrella."

"What for?"

"To go with you."

"No, you're not."

"Why not? He's my son!"

"Norma. Calm down. I'm not taking you with me because is not safe out there, and I'm not going to put another person at risk, it wouldn't be smart. I'll go, you stay. I'll feel better that way. And if he calls or comes back before me, you call me." I try to put some sense into her. It works.

"Ok." She says softly. Just as soon as I walk out the door and into the rain I hear her. "Alex! Be careful."

* * *

One hour later and I haven't made much progress. The roads are either blocked or being rapidly covered by water. The wind has picked up speed considerably. I've forgotten what a category 3 storm like this one is capable of doing. I turn the car around.

When I arrive back at the B&B, it is almost pitch black; power has gone down in the streets. The little hotel still has some lights on, probably from a very good generator. I get out my rented SUV and start running towards the back to Norma's place in the distance, the wind and rain making it hard to see.

The second I take cover under the balcony's roof she opens the door. I don't even know how she knows I'm here. The windows are covered with shutters. "Alex! Come on in!"

Closing the door behind us, leaving the angry force of nature outside, she throws her hands around my neck, hugging me. I'm taken aback by the sudden, and almost out of place, show of emotion. I didn't even bring Norman back. Instead I tell her what I found out.

"So… I couldn't make it all the way over there, roads are blocked, and as you can see the storm is pretty nasty already." I start to explain. "I made some calls though. And apparently Norman and Mr. Arellano, along with more people at the store at the moment, have been taken by Red Cross to a safe refuge. He'll spend the night there, until the hurricane passes. Then we can go pick him up if they can't make it back on their car."

I try to move so I can look at her face, but she starts talking next to my ear. "I know. He called me and told me. I tried to call you but the line went down. I don't have a cell phone down here, just the land line from the little house. I was so scared I couldn't contact you. I'm so glad you're safe!" She says. "That both of you are."

Then, both realizing at the same time we were hugging each other tightly, we move away quickly and I instantly missed her warmth. "Let me get you a towel!"

After a while my clothes are somewhat dry. I've shrugged my leather jacket off and it hangs on one of the kitchen's stools. "Norma, you can go ahead and lie down. Um, I can't leave now," I say while the sounds outside keep roaring, "but I'll sleep on the couch. Tomorrow we'll check on Norman."

"That's silly." She says standing up, turning off the only light that was on, blowing some of the candles she has lighted before, and taking one with her.

"There's a big enough bed for the both of us." She finishes and I'm glad for the darkness because I'm sure my eyes are wide as saucers. I am not expecting anything but I follow her into her bedroom, where she uses the candle she has already lighted on to light some others. The room is now bathed in small yellow flames.

She turns around to face me and she looks shy, unsure. I can't bear seeing her like this. Then the loudest sound from outside reaches our ears, thunderous, enormous. I think a tree might have fallen down. She jumps about a mile high up in the air. I remember her fear of thunders.

"Don't be scared. I'm here." And just like a switch has been turned on on her, she launches herself at me with so much force I have to take a step back to balance myself. She throws her hands around my neck, I grab her waist, and we finally kiss.

She opens her mouth in a moan, and I take the chance to plunge my tongue inside, teasing hers and making it come out to meet mine. I hold the back of her head; keep it in place while I kiss every corner of her mouth. She fights me for dominance, but in the end settles for letting me kiss her, then running her tongue over my bottom lip and taking it between her teeth. I groan at her.

My hands are getting greedy and they grab her ass, pull her to me, pressing her abdomen to where I'm already hard. Her hands move up to my hair, then down my face and my neck. She then grasps my jaw and she kisses me hard, long and wet.

Desperation and want are a potent combination. I manage to drag my hands to the front buttons of her dress, and start undoing them, becoming frustrated by their tiny presence and unwillingness to cooperate so I rip the front of her dress open. She gasps against my mouth and I murmur a muffled "Sorry" against hers. "It's okay." She answers.

She is already undoing my shirt, my belt, my fly, anything she can get her agile hands on. I pull her dress all the way down, and then my shirt, pants, and shoes are discarded too. Kissing her neck, I start pushing her backwards to the bed. We reach the bed, the back of her knees already touching the mattress. She takes my face in her hands, and kisses me slowly, gently pressing her slightly parted lips against mine. She takes the opportunity to rid me of my boxers and then covers my mouth with hers again, her tongue exploring the inside of my mouth leisurely, then hungrily, until we both feel the need to come up for oxygen.

"I missed you." She whispers looking into my eyes.

"I missed you too."

I lower her to the bed and then follow letting my weight rest on top of her. She sighs contentedly as she pulls me closer and trails her hands down my back. Her thighs open letting me rest in between them. I push against her just a tiny bit and she moans. I can't get enough of her mouth but I take a detour down her neck and collarbones, kissing and nipping my way down her body. Take one nipple into my mouth, wet the lace of her bra with my tongue, feel the tip harden. I do the same with the other, and then take off her bra and do it all over again, this time against her skin.

"Alex, hmm, Alex." She's curving her back, pressing her breasts into my face, and I take as much of her flesh as I can into my open mouth, closing in and sucking, then flicking my tongue against her nipple. I want more so I move down kissing her stomach until I reach her panties and take them down. I kneel and sit back on my heels to enjoy the view, reveling in seeing her naked again. I run my hands all the way from her neck down to her feet and she sighs. I move to reach for her just as she sits up, and then kneels before me, putting her hand on me and stroking my already hard flesh. Is my turn to moan. I try to lay her back down but she shakes her head no.

"Like this. I want it like this." She says in a sultry tone and I kneel back on my heels. She moves to straddle me; opening her thighs wide in doing so. She settles in, putting her hands on my shoulders, and starts slowly rubbing herself on me. Her eyes flutter close. I reach down with my hand and feel her opening, wet and ready, and I hold back the need to push myself up into her. Instead I run my fingers against her a few times, then slide one finger in and we both moan at the sensation. She's gripping my shoulders, holding herself perfectly still above my hand, and biting her lip. I keep the slow motion of my finger; slide it in, slide it out, add another one, in and out. When I press my thumb to her clit she moans deeply in her throat. I do this a few times until she swats my hand away.

She then grabs ahold of me, aligns me with her entrance and starts lowering herself on my length. She doesn't go far, instead, goes right back up. My hands are holding onto her hips and I feel her breathing in through her nose, out through her mouth, in coordination with her motions. She pushes herself down a little, comes back up, pushes herself down a little more next time, and comes back up until only the tip of me is inside her. Each time she lowers herself taking a little more of me in.

"Ah, Norma." She's driving me crazy. At the sound of her name she opens her eyes and we lock gazes. We kiss. I'm pressing my fingers so hard into the skin of her hips I know I'll leave marks. Then finally her pace picks up, going up all the way and crashing herself down on me, the fury of nature outside a cacophony against the perfect harmony of our movements inside. She moans, throws her head back, and I kiss and lick her newly exposed neck. The faint smell of her perfume still lingering there. I've started to push myself up into her every time she moves down. I grab at her waist, at her lower back, try to keep her close to me. Our bodies crashing into each other like the waves on the shore outside. We are two lost souls at sea and we don't care if we drown.

"Norma, oh god Norma, you feel so good. I missed you, I missed this. Ahh…" I start pouring my love into her; in words, with each thrust up her body, in the way my hands are holding on to her, digging into her skin. The essence of her filling every one of my senses; I touch her soft skin, taste her sweat, smell the scent that is her arousal, hear her sighs of pleasure, and see her. And what a magnificent view it is.

"Alex, oh! ohh! God, oh god…" She's holding on to me, her fingernails digging into my skin to the point of pain, but I don't care. Not when she's giving me this. Her breasts rub against my chest with each upward and downward movement of her body against mine. Her moans are reaching fever pitch, and then for a second, she goes quiet. The wind howling outside and our rapid breathings the only sounds.

I look at her face contorted in ecstasy, eyes shut in concentration, mouth open, head thrown back, hips rocking against mine with the force of the hurricane outside. And then she lunges forward, bites me hard where neck meets shoulder, and I wince in pain, but is quickly forgotten because she's drowning her sobs against me. She is coming hard, her body gripping me forcefully, almost making me come too. Her cries go on for infinite seconds and her hands claw at my shoulders and back, and then she is silent against me. I hold her hips hard and thrust up a few more times forcefully, making her move on top of me like a rag doll and I come apart too, spilling everything into her with a long moan and her name on my lips.

* * *

I open my eyes and the setting of the small room and simple white furniture is unfamiliar. Candles on top of the dresser already spent and burnt out. But my arms tighten at the very familiar and welcome feeling of Norma in my arms. Looking down at her as she lies with her head on my shoulder, her arm draped over my chest, her breasts pressed to my side, I kiss the top of her head.

She stirs and opens her eyes. Tenses up for a second, then relaxes again, looking up at me. "Hi." She murmurs. "Hi." I answer back and move to kiss her. She puts her hand on my face and for a second this is the happiest I've been in a long time. But she suddenly stops kissing me and gets up from the bed.

"Hmm. I think is morning already." She begins. "These damn shutters won't let the light in." She keeps talking and gesturing towards the windows, like she is not standing there completely naked, her face puzzled by emotions. She starts walking across to the dresser, opens a drawer and pulls a shirt to cover herself. It's a man's shirt and I am completely overtaken by jealousy for a second, until I realize whose shirt that is. She is closing up a few buttons as I get up from the bed too, and walk over to her.

She looks at me with wide eyes, taking in my naked state, licking her lips without even noticing she's doing it. "That is my shirt." I inform her like she doesn't know it already. "Yes", she sighs as I've already put my hands on her waist. "I, I took it that night. I.." she falters as I start kissing her neck. "I wear it sometimes to bed."

I kiss her lips softly. She puts her arms around my waist. "You're naked." She states the obvious.

"You are too. Under that shirt anyway." I kiss her again.

"Alex, we should go out. Mmm… Try to find Norman." She speaks between kisses.

"Hmm yeah." I keep kissing her neck. "We should." Kiss her collarbones. "Later though." Kiss the space between her breasts. "I'm not done with you yet." I say as I pick her up and deposit her on top of the dresser.

If last night was fast, and desperate, and hot and heavy; today is soft, and lazy, and measured. I take her slowly, languidly stroking deep within her. Her hand is on my neck, the other behind her, supporting herself on the dresser. I re-open the buttons so I can run my hands under the shirt, from her neck to her breasts to her waist, then settling on her ass, pulling and pressing her to me.

I want to keep it slow, but the sounds she's making and the undulating movements of her body are spurring me on. I slide my hand down between us and press my thumb against her clit. She whimpers and after a few moments I feel her reaching her orgasm, hear her ragged breathing, her inner walls contracting around me, I can't do nothing else but let go. I grip her hard and empty myself into her.

My head has found the perfect spot in the crook of her neck. I feel her hands combing through my hair as I try to regain my normal breath.

"Alex? I'm going to make some coffee and get ready. Ok?"

I realize I have to let her go in order for her to move. I move away and slip out of her, she winces a little, and I help her back on her feet. She looks up to me and smiles, then disappears into the hallway and I hear the shower being turned on. After getting dressed, I go start the coffee machine.

Later, when I get out of the bathroom and into the kitchen again looking for her, she's already dressed, and hanging up the phone. "Mrs. Arellano says I don't have to work all day. I just need to go help her with breakfast for a few guests since most people left yesterday before the storm came in. Also she already talked to her husband and he and Norman are on their way here." She says relieved.

Then her eyes look at me expectantly. "Do you want to go with me to the big house? We can have breakfast there."

"Yes."

We step outside and see daylight for the first time since we awoke today and also some of the damage the storm caused. Just outside the pool house Norma calls 'the little house' there's a big palm tree on the ground.

"Oh wow! I guess that's the sound we heard last night. That could've come down on us and killed us!" She says dramatically. Although, this time, she might be right.

We walk around the tree branches that have fallen and the puddles and reach the main building. Norma leads me into a big kitchen where an older woman is already busy cooking.

"Hi, Mrs. Arellano."

"Hello, dear! I hope the storm didn't scare you too much…" She says turning around to greet Norma but stops when she sees me.

"Um, this is Alex Romero, my husband." I hear Norma say.

"Yes! I forgot he was here! We met yesterday." She announces with a gentle smile on her face. "He came in looking for you. I told him where to find you. I hope that was not intrusive on my part, dear." She says directing her gaze at Norma.

"No, no, it's okay." Norma says smiling nervously and Mrs. Arellano looks at her trying to gauge if she's lying.

"Well, he showed me his badge. He told me you were expecting him." She trails off and Norma gives me with an inquisitive look.

"Yes, I was. And, umm, I'm sorry I didn't mention I was married before. But…" Norma starts but is interrupted by the older woman.

"No dear, you don't have to explain. I'm old enough and I've seen everything by now. Couples nowadays live in different cities, get together for a few days a month, it's just all very modern." She's talking while fixing food on some plates, not looking at us. We exchange looks and shrug at each other, both thinking hers might be as good an explanation as any.

"At least you look very happy today." She turns around to wink at her and Norma's face turns red. I laugh.

"Here dear, help me with this. And then we can eat something while my husband and your boy arrive. Later we have to clean all the mess outside. Maybe your husband can help too?" She says looking at me.

"Of course, I'll be happy to." I say.

Moments later, Norma has cooked eggs for an army, some plates have gone out to the guests and another has been placed in front of me. Norma sits down opposite me at the small kitchen table and is eating her own breakfast when Mrs. Arellano speaks again.

"Oh! I haven't told you. Robert said there were police at the refuge this morning. Apparently a young girl went missing. Nobody knows where she is. She was at the refuge where he and your boy passed the storm last night. Poor girl. I hope she's okay."

I look over at Norma, her hand is frozen midway, fork in the air; and the look on her face confirms that she as scared of that piece of information as I am.

* * *

TBC…


	5. Eye of the Storm

**A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews and for continuing reading this story. I hope I don't disappoint you. This is so stressful! Lol**

* * *

They arrive an hour later and Norma runs outside to greet her son. She helps him out of the car since Norman doesn't seem to be able to move by himself. Mr. Arellano goes to hug his wife and I hear her asking "What's wrong with him?"

Norma hears this too, and promptly answers back, "He's probably tired, he's not used to spending the night in a strange place, much less with a hurricane passing by. I'm going to put him to bed and I'll be back." She says brightly and starts walking while putting Norman's arm around her shoulder to support him.

I look at the older couple and their confused expressions and go over to them. "Uh, hi, I'm Alex Romero, Norma's husband." I say extending my hand to Mr. Arellano. He does the same and looks at his wife for an explanation.

"Yes. Turns out dear Norma is married to this handsome young man." She says exuberantly and makes me chuckle. "He came by yesterday. I'm guessing he didn't want to leave her alone during this storm."

"Yeah, yes, something like that." I answer her.

"Well, nice to meet you Alex. I'm Robert Arellano. Your wife is a lovely woman."

"Yes, she is. Thank you."

"And what am I?" She interrupts us with a fake angry tone in her voice and he looks at her.

"You, my dear Cecilia, are the most beautiful and loveliest woman alive." He winks at her.

"Good." She smiles at him. "I'm going inside to finish in the kitchen; the girls are not coming to work today, with the roads all messed up and everything. There are very few guests so Norma and I can manage for a couple days." She announces and with a kiss to his cheek, leaves us.

"So, nasty storm, huh?" I say.

"Yeah. Although after living here for 30 years, I've seen worse."

"I bet." I pause. "I don't think Norman has ever seen one, though. Norma and he are from the mid-west, he probably was nervous about being at a refuge, knowing Norma was here alone, too. He didn't know I had arrived yesterday."

"Um, actually, he was pretty calm the whole time we were being transported and brought to the refuge. It was a big school and they put us all in the gym. About 50 people I'm guessing. We even had a TV to pass the time."

"Did you see him talking to anybody? Was he with you the whole time?"

"No, I didn't see him taking to anyone. We mostly kept each other company. Then I fell asleep and when I woke up this morning he was not there. I was scared I'd lost the boy. Your wife and my wife would've killed me." He jokes.

"Probably." I try to laugh. "And where did you find him?"

"Oh, he was just by the restrooms. Then they took us to my car and we drove here."

"Did he seem okay?"

"I guess so, yes. Just moving slower and he was quieter than usual."

"And do you know anything about the missing girl? Did you see her?"

"No, I never saw her. Only know that they're looking for her."

* * *

"Norma?" I call upon entering the pool house. She comes out of Norman's bedroom. "How's Norman?" I ask her.

"He's, uh, fine I think. He's just tired. I gave him his meds; he missed yesterday's dose. He'll probably be asleep for a few hours."

"Is he blacked out?"

"No, I don't think so. Is not the same as other times." She sounds sincere.

"I'm going into town to see what's happening with that missing girl." She looks at me with a mixture of fear and concern. I know what she's thinking. She's scared of what might have happened but is hoping against it. "I'll see you later."

* * *

"Norma's husband asked me a lot of questions. He sounded like a cop." Mr. Arellano told his wife inside the house.

"That's because he is. He's a sheriff. He showed me his badge and ID last night. I had to ask for it, I wasn't sure Norma wanted him here, but he assured me she was waiting for him. He seemed like a nice and honest man." She says. "She was happy to see him, that I know."

"I wonder why he was so interested in what Norman did last night at the refuge. And he also asked me about the missing girl."

"Because it's his job. He's probably worried about his step son too. Poor boy looked frazzled this morning."

The nice man shrugged. His wife was probably right.

* * *

Norma has gone to the big house to help in the kitchen; hurricane or not, guests or not, "everybody has to eat", she mentioned. I've come back from my unplanned investigation in town. Flashed my badge, asked a couple questions, and they finally gave me an answer. The missing girl had been found. She ran away with her boyfriend, seeing the chaos of the storm as an opportunity, but she and the guy were picked up one county down. They were lucky not to have been killed by flying debris. Stupid kids.

When I told Norma she just shrugged. "Good. I'm glad she's okay." But I could see in her eyes the total relief she felt upon learning the news. I did too. The last thing I needed was Norman involved in another crime investigation, in another state too.

Now I'm outside, under a sweltering sun, helping clear away the fallen debris. Mr. Arellano and I, along with a few guys who apparently work here, have lifted up all the smallest branches and cleaned most of the dirt away. The big palm tree that fell outside Norma's has to wait until a city truck comes to pick it up.

"Alex." I hear Norma's voice and when I turn around I see her coming my way with a big glass of iced tea in her hand. She offers it to me and I notice the way she's looking at my bare chest, and I have to smile. "See anything you like?" I tease her.

"You're an exhibitionist." She tells me but I see her eyes twinkling.

"Norma, it's too hot and humid out here. In fact, you should be walking around skirtless and shirtless yourself." I tell her and see her eyes go wide and her mouth open, but just as quickly, she recovers.

"Oh Sheriff, if I were to do that, you'd have all those younger guys to fight off me. You'd have some fierce competition." She gestures to the men working around us with a playful smile on her face.

I chuckle and give her the glass back. "Thank you."

"Lunch is almost ready. Come inside when you're done. And um, you should go take a shower first." She says waving to my sweaty chest, making a displeased face, but I know she secretly is loving my manly display for her.

"But isn't Norman in the house? Don't want to disturb him."

"He is but he's still sleeping. Just don't make too much noise. I haven't told him you're here."

I sigh but nod at her. She kisses me on the cheek and turns to leave.

* * *

Grabbing my travel bag from the SUV and going into the small house I think we need to figure this out soon. I have only a couple more days left before I have to return to work.

I take a much needed shower and change into clean clothes. I'm drinking a tall glass of water in the kitchen and about to head out when I hear sounds. I turn and see Norman.

"Sheriff."'

"Hi, Norman."

"I see you found us."

"I did."

"When did you get here?"

"Yesterday." I answer him and see him processing the information that I have already seen and spent a good amount of time alone with Norma.

"Well, you may have found us but we're not coming back. She's not coming back." He states petulantly.

"How so?"

"Because I won't let her."

"Well, Norman, your mother is an adult woman capable of making her own decisions. I'll leave it to her to decide if she is or not coming back."

"She is easier to play than you think. That night, that day after you hurt her, and she came running into my arms crying, I held her. I told her to leave, to leave you, and she did what I asked her." He replies proudly.

"I'm sure you thought you were helping her, but she is not happy here, and you are not safe. I want to take care of her, and of you..."

"You want me in the hospital, locked away so you can have her all to yourself!"

"I want what's best for you, and for her."

There's a pause before he speaks again. "I hid the cell phones that night. In Portland." I look at him questioningly.

"She has heard your message; I could see she was having doubts. I didn't want her to call you so I waited till she fell asleep, and hid them. Took out the batteries and put them in the car. When she woke up there was no time to look for them. We had to leave to the airport. I made sure she wouldn't call you from any other phone."

"So you were worried that if she called me, if I had talked to her, that I might have been able to make her come back? Is that it?" I see the fury in his eyes.

"She left White Pine Bay with me, because of me! I told her I'd run away and kill myself if she didn't leave you!" He finally yells and everything makes sense now.

"Norman, you don't need to do that. We can all live together, and you can have your mother in your life, but I'm telling you again, I love her and I'm not leaving her here alone with you."

"She is _mine_." He says through his rage; gritted teeth and eyes ablaze.

"She is your mother, yes. But she is also my wife. So get used to it, Norman." I say calmly and leave him there.

* * *

After lunch, I offered to help Mr. Arellano to take down the shutters and wood panels. I could hear Mrs. Arellano talking to Norma, as we were cleaning up the table where we all ate. "Your man is very helpful. You shouldn't leave him alone for too long, dear. A man like that, a woman like you, you should be together all the time. Enjoy yourselves; before you know it, your youth will have passed, and you'll be thinking why you didn't spend more time together." Norma listened intently at her and then glanced at me with a wistful look.

Later, I go looking for her. She went to check on Norman.

"Hi." I say as I enter. "How is he?"

"He ate something and went back to bed. He took a sleeping pill, said he was so tired and wanted to sleep some more."

"Can we talk?" I ask her.

"Yes, sure."

"Come on." I guide her out the door.

"This is a very beautiful place." I say as we walk along the beach.

"Yeah, it is."

"I talked to Norman."

"What? When?"

"When I went to take a shower. He was awake and he told me what he said he'd do if you didn't leave with him." I see her eyes fill with tears and a shaky breath leave her mouth.

"I know you're scared." I continue. "But leaving, running, is not the answer. He said that to test you, to scare you, but I doubt he'd do it."

"How can you be so sure?" She asks in a small voice.

"Because he would've done it already. But, if those thoughts are in his head, don't you think it'll be safer for him to talk to a doctor about it? To keep receiving the medical help he was back in Pineview? To be monitored so he can't hurt himself?"

"Oh, Alex! I don't know what to do!" She starts crying now.

"Norma, I'm sorry." I say hugging her to me. "I'm sorry we had that fight. I'm sorry I went behind your back, I know now that was the wrong tactic, but I was scared too." She looks back at me. "I'm scared. For you. I can't leave you here and hope that everything will be perfect. That he won't have another blackout, that he won't hurt you…"

"He hasn't. He would never." Her maddening unreasonable denial showing itself again.

"You don't know that Norma. You can't know for sure he won't in the future. I know you were worried about that missing girl today. We both were."

She disengages from my hug and keeps walking. I walk next to her.

"I was hurt."

"When?"

"You made me feel I had to choose between him and you. I thought you wanted him away. I thought you would leave me if I didn't choose you. That's why I left. I couldn't choose between you two and I was not ready to lose you. " Her voice is breaking.

"I'm sorry you felt that way. It was not my intention to make you choose, I would never ask you to choose, and I don't want to separate you from your son. I want to protect you. But in order to do that, if I had to put him back in Pineview, that's what I was prepared to do. What I am prepared to do. I'm sorry, Norma, but I won't sit back and wait till something bad happens. I've seen too many things by now, and you know I've protected him too." I tell her and she knows what I mean.

She looks up at me, tears running down her cheeks, bottom lip trembling; it breaks my heart to see her like this. And in a way I'm the reason she's crying too.

"I want you safe, and I want you happy. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. And this can't be the life you want to live. Constantly worrying, waiting for the next shoe to drop. We can help him, by giving him what he needs; medical attention."

She's looking at me expectantly.

"I want to ask you something."

"What?" She says.

"Is the most important thing I will ever ask of you."

"What? What is it?!" She's already on the verge of exasperation. Patience has never been her strongest suit.

"I know that I hurt you, and I know is hard but… I want… I need you… Will you trust me again?"

I'm biting my own lip now, waiting for her response. I've worked so hard for two years to gain her trust, and then I lost it, and I can't go on like this. Knowing she doesn't trust me is like knowing I won't ever sleep or breathe easy again. I need her to give me that again. Her trust is all I want.

"Alex." She closes the space between us. The wind is blowing away her hair, her tears are starting to dry on her face, and I wait. I wait like an accused man waiting for his verdict, or his absolution.

And then she delivers it.

"I trust you."

I hear her and I release a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"I trust you. I do. I trust you with my life." She gives me back the oxygen I needed.

I hold her beautiful face in my hands and run my thumbs softly against her cheeks and then I kiss her. I nip and lick her lips, run my tongue along hers, and hear her contented sigh. We separate to gasp for air, but keep our foreheads pressed together, breathing each other in. The wind is whisking her skirt away, the waves are making a relaxing sound, and the sky is looking blue.

This is the eye of the storm. The apparent calm before its tail drops the final amount of rain and wind, a little reminder that is still alive, kicking and fighting until the end. The last vestige that it was in fact there, destroying and smashing, before leaving forever. I'm not fooled by the calm, her son won't be happy, he will fight, but I'm ready to fight back.

* * *

"We should go back." I hear Norma say.

"Why?"

"Because Norman is probably looking for me."

"I'm sure Norman is fine and if he needed you, we're only at the beach behind the house. Look, I can even see it from here!" I point in the direction of the house and she laughs.

"Okay." She leans back again into my chest. We're sitting on the sand, both barefoot now; she's tucked between my spread and bent legs, my arms around her. The sunset is creating a beautiful view, the seagulls have already populated the beach again, and the waves are making a calming sound, already such a contrast from the furious and turbulent way they were behaving last night.

She's absently running her hands down my arms, until they reach my hands, and she intertwines her fingers with mine. Then she pulls our joined hands out, against the horizon, trying to cover the sun. "You have pretty hands." She says suddenly and I laugh. "No, I don't."

"Yes, you do! I don't mean pretty like girly pretty. I mean pretty as in handsome, and masculine, and big and strong. I like your hands." She keeps admiring my hands, moving them this way and the other.

In answer I bring her hand to my lips, and kiss each fingertip, each knuckle. I release her right hand and take the other one. She puts her already kissed right hand next to my cheek while I kiss her left hand. She's already turning into my embrace, her lips searching mine.

"I love your hands." I talk instead of kissing her. "I like that they're feminine and small, but capable and strong. I love that they know how to cook, and sew and play the piano. I love that they know how to fight but also how to love." And then I press a kiss on her lips.

We keep kissing and she doesn't realize I've put my hand under my jacket and have taken the small box out of the pocket. "Are you coming back to White Pine Bay with me?" I ask between kisses.

"Yes."

"Then your hand is missing this." She stops kissing me and follows my gaze to my hand where the small box is holding the ring. "If you want it back."

"Yes! Yes, I do." She is crying and laughing. I take the ring out and put it back where it belongs. She admires it, puts her hand out again, against the sun, and the ring sparkles. She turns around again to kiss me and I maneuver us into a laying position. We're side by side on the sand, kissing and touching. I start to run my hand under her skirt, caressing soft skin, and earning soft sighs from her. I almost reach her center; feel the heat already forming there, when she stops me.

"Alex, no! We can't do this here!"

"Why not? There's no one around."

"But somebody might come. I don't need Robert or Cecilia to find me on the beach, making out with my husband like a horny teenager. Or even worse, Norman seeing us."

She stands up, shakes the sand from her hair and her dress, and bends down to pick up her shoes. "What are you waiting for? A written invitation? Come on! Let's go inside. I'm hungry."

I laugh and stand up too. Reach for my own shoes and pick up the empty jewelry box and put it back inside my pocket. I catch her left hand and kiss the place where the ring meets her finger.

"Yeah, beautiful." I say looking directly at her and she smiles and ducks her face, a small flush coming to rest on her cheeks.

* * *

Dinner was uneventful. Norma cooked a simple meal for the three of us and Norman was the picture of politeness. I saw the exact moment his eyes caught a glimpse of the ring on her finger, though, and he could've fooled anyone but me. He swallowed down angrily like he was being forced to drink the bitterest drink in the world.

Norma told him we were all going back to White Pine Bay and he surprised us both with a calm "Okay, Mother." The eye of the storm.

He retired to his bedroom as soon as he finished eating. Said he was going to take his pills to be able to sleep and left us alone in the kitchen. I helped Norma do the dishes and then we sat down in the living room to watch some movie. I think she was nervous about having to share a bed with me tonight, with Norman in the small house, but I didn't say anything. If we were going to be living under the same roof again, he better get used to me sleeping in her bed. I am not leaving her side ever again.

Night arrived and we got ready for bed. Norma wore a simple satin blue chemise that clung to every curve of her body and I caught myself staring.

"I thought you wore my plaid shirt to bed." I say trying to put some humor in the situation; the sexual tension already building up.

"Only because it smelled like you. It's too damn hot to wear it tonight though." She moves to get into bed, I do the same. "And anyway, you're here now. I don't need the shirt."

We lay side by side, looking at each other, and I see her eyes moving over my face. I'm looking at every feature on her face too, barely believing that we're finally here, that we've finally cleared the air, and we're together again.

She smiles and moves closer. I put my hand on her waist instantly and she touches my face. I close my eyes. Then I feel her lips on mine and I can't help but start touching her, my hand already pressing into her skin, caressing the curve of her hip, the swell of her ass. We're in the exact same position we were at the beach, and already getting to the point of no return, our short but feverish make out session on the sand making us ready faster.

"Norma, please tell me to stop now, or I won't be able to stop later."

"No, don't stop. We just have to be quiet."

She starts taking off her underwear and I assist her, quickly pulling them down and off her legs. Then my boxers find the same destination at the foot of the bed. She keeps her chemise on; we're too far gone to wait one second more. I hike her leg high up over my hip and thrust into her in one swift motion. She gasps out loud and I quickly swallow her sound with my own mouth.

"Shh. Be quiet." I whisper to her if only to keep with her wish. I don't care if Norman hears us, in fact, I hope he does. She's my wife, and I intend to make love to her every day and every night, whenever the hell any one of us pleases and I don't need his permission to do that.

Tonight is like any other time we've been together like this. I give her everything and she doesn't hold anything back. And when she comes, I keep my mouth pressed to hers, trying to muffle her sounds, only to create a different one. By the time I finish I'm trying to drown my own sounds into her neck.

"I love you, Alex."

"I love you too, Norma."

* * *

They couldn't have known Norman was outside in the hallway and had heard the last moments of their lovemaking and their enunciation of love. Nobody saw the look of anger and hurt on his face before he slowly crept back into his room closing the door behind him.

* * *

TBC...


	6. Picking up the Pieces

**A/N: Well, I don't know what happened. This was supposed to be a short chapter because it is a transition chapter and then the muse got ahold of me and it's the longest chapter yet plus I wrote over 1,000 words of just smut ;) Also, I know Alex was kind of a dick towards the end but I needed somebody to hate on Norman as much as I do. Thanks for reading! Thanks for all your beautiful reviews!**

* * *

"Goodbye, dear." Cecilia Arellano says while hugging Norma the next morning. Norma looks very touched at the display of affection from the older woman that seems more like a mother hugging a daughter than a boss hugging her leaving employee.

"Goodbye, Cecilia. Thank you for everything." I hear her reply from where I stand close by waiting for her. "Thank you so much for giving us the job, and for being so nice all this time to me and my son, and also for understanding that I have to leave without giving you much notice." Norma explains.

"Thank you for all your hard work. You and Norman were very good employees! And don't worry about it, dear. There are always people looking for a job around here. I'm sure we'll find somebody else soon. You go on with your husband." She looks at me after releasing Norma from her hug.

I go to extend my hand to her and thank her too but she goes in for a hug surprising me. Norma and Mr. Arellano are looking at us with big smiles on their faces. I'm a little embarrassed to be hugged so tightly by a woman I barely know, but I also appreciate she's been good to Norma, and for that I let her have her hug.

"Mother, we're going to miss the plane." We all turn around to see Norman waiting for us, standing by the rented SUV, having said his goodbyes a few minutes ago.

"Um yes. We should go." Norma announces and goes to briefly hug Mr. Arellano.

"Sorry we couldn't keep the hurricanes away while you were here." Robert Arellano says with a benevolent smile.

"Oh don't worry. It was not so bad." My wife offers and I think that, in fact, for us it wasn't. In a way the hurricane brought us back together. I think I'll have to thank Mother Nature for that one.

"I'm taking it with me anyway." I comment and they all look at me quizzically. "The hurricane?" I try to explain but see they're not following me so Norma steps in.

"My middle name is Louise."

"Oh! You don't say! I always find it a horrible idea to name hurricanes after people." Cecilia exclaims.

"This one is double strong, but I don't mind, I like the hurricane Norma Louise." I mention as I put my arm around her waist and see that both women smile at me. I go to shake Mr. Arellano's hand. "Thank you for being so kind to my wife. Both of you." I direct my gaze to his wife.

"You're very welcome. She was a big help to us, too. You make a beautiful family." He observes and Norma's smile falters for a second. Probably because that's exactly what she wants, and what I too want, for us to be a normal and happy family.

"Have a safe trip. And don't forget us! Come visit sometime! Second honeymoon, maybe?" We hear Cecilia offer with a wink and Norma ducks her head demurely, but we laugh, say our last goodbyes and get into the car.

* * *

One layover, nine hours of flight, twelve hours in total, one stop at another rental car in Portland later, and we finally arrive at White Pine Bay. Norman is asleep on the back seat. Is late and we are all tired.

I'm about to turn into the last street leading to the motel when I reach over for Norma's hand. She seems lost in thought.

"You okay?"

"Hmm, yes, I'm just tired." She answers and squeezes my hand in return. "Can't wait to sleep in my own bed."

We arrive at the motel and the gravel on the ground makes its familiar sound under the car tires as I drive and park in front of our house. The motel sign is off and everything is dark, just the light from the street lamp illuminating the path to the stairs.

"Norman, Norman honey, wake up. We're here." She tries to wake him from her spot on the front seat. "Norman!"

"What? What is it, Mother?"

"We're here. We're home."

"Good." Is his only reply as he gets out and starts walking towards the house leaving us alone. Norma just looks at his disappearing form and seems slightly annoyed.

"Come on, let's go inside too." I tell her and open my door.

Takes me one minute to go around the car and get our travel bags out of the trunk. Norman left his so I carry the three bags. I close the trunk and go to her side of the rented car and find her standing next to the green Mercedes that is neatly parked in front of the stairs. She's lightly touching it like the precious object I know it is for her.

"You got my car back." She utters in a mix of a melancholic and surprised tone. "Again."

"Yes, but I'm warning you, next time is going to cost you." I try to lighten up her mood.

It has the desired effect as she looks at me with love and something else I can't describe, and closes the gap between us, moving slowly like she's about to kiss me, but changes direction at the last second to press a soft but loving kiss on my cheek. "Thank you." She breathes. "Again." She says referring to the first time I got her car back and she thanked me this exact way. As if I could forget that moment.

Slowly going up the stairs, she insists on carrying hers and Norman's bag, but I refuse. She opens the door and I drop the bags in the hallway.

"Home sweet home." I hear her say to no one in particular. She's not moving; she's just standing there looking up and around, taking it all in.

"Uh, I'm sorry if the house is not clean. I didn't want to be here alone, it didn't feel right, so I stayed in my old house. But before I went to Florida, I bought some groceries just in case, so there is something in the fridge to tide us over until tomorrow at least." I let her know all of this in a rush of words. Somehow remembering how empty the house felt without her and how I went to the grocery store in the hope that she was coming back with me, is bringing memories that I do not want to be reminded of now.

"I should make us something to eat." She offers.

"Norma, it's been a long day. You don't have to cook now. Besides, there's not much in the fridge."

"I'll just make sandwiches. If I can find the ingredients." She looks at me asking a silent question.

"Yeah, I think there's enough for that."

"Good. Can you tell Norman to come down to eat?" She asks as she walks to the kitchen. "I don't want to go up; if I do I'll stay there and fall asleep in a minute."

I smile at her insistence on making food now but that's Norma. I look at the bags, and for a second think of leaving Norman's there; he can come get his own bag. But I go against my original idea and take all of them upstairs.

After knocking on his door, it slowly opens, and I tell him about his mother's request and hand him his travel bag. He just takes it from my hand without even saying thanks. "Tell Mother I'm not hungry."

"You go and tell her yourself. She's already making something; you should at least thank her. And you know she'll come up here and will make you eat something anyway." I move to leave the rest of the luggage in our bedroom.

When I go back downstairs, Norma has already made sandwiches and I can smell something that's cooking on the stove. "Hey."

"Sit down. Soup is almost ready. Is Norman coming?" Just as she asks he appears on the doorway.

"I'm here."

"Good, sit down sweetie. I made tomato soup. It's from the can, but it'll do."

"I'm not hungry."

"Well, you have to eat. It's been a long day and you have to take your meds now, you can't do it on an empty stomach." She looks at him seriously.

"Alright, I'll eat but I'll take it up to my room. I'm tired." He grumbles and I think it might be an excuse not to seat with us at the table but I'm not about to say anything; this is between them. I keep eating my sandwich.

Norma stays silent but puts a bowl of soup and a sandwich on a tray for him and he takes it from her. He's about to leave when she talks.

"Norman." He turns around, tray in his hands. "Don't be rude. I raised you better than this. Don't you think you should say goodnight? Or thanks? You know, Alex went all the way down to Florida, and paid for our travel back, and drove us all the way here, and bought groceries." There's a pause. "And I just made you soup." She finishes.

He takes a deep breath. "Thank you, Alex… for everything. And thank you, Mother, for the food. Goodnight."

She looks mildly satisfied with his words and after putting two bowls of hot soup on the table sits down herself.

"I'm sorry it's just soup. I'll go grocery shopping tomorrow and re-stock everything." She finally starts eating her own meal. I was worried she was not going to eat.

"Anything you make is better than airport food." I tell her sincerely.

We finished eating and I offered to do the few dishes and insisted she go upstairs, take a shower and get ready for bed. She must be exhausted because she just nodded and left without resisting my suggestion. By the time I enter our bedroom, she's already in bed and asleep. I take a pair of pajama pants from the drawer and head to take a shower too.

I come back, close the door and get into bed trying not to wake her, but she does. "Hey, go back to sleep."

"I'm sorry you had to be alone. I didn't like it when I asked you to go back to your old house either. When Norman came back from Pineview, remember?" She surprises me by talking so much, since I thought she was profoundly asleep, but also about the fact that she had heard everything I said when we came in the house an hour ago. She just choose to not acknowledge it at the moment.

"It's okay, let's put all that behind us now." I tell her.

"But I hated that night I had to spend here alone. I hated every night of the last month, too." Her eyes are already sad and filling with tears.

"Don't cry. Let's just make a new promise never to spend another night apart, how's that?"

"I'd like that." She tries to smile and the effort is endearing.

I kiss her lightly on the lips and we look at each other longingly. We may want more but we're too tired to do anything else at the moment. I turn off the lamp and reach for her in the semi darkness. She comes willingly into my arms and I speak close to her forehead. "Goodnight, Norma. Welcome home."

"I am home." She whispers while pressing herself even closer to me and I'm sure she doesn't mean the house this time. I am home too.

* * *

I wake up to find I'm alone in my bed. A moment of fear and disorientation starts to arise but then my eyes land on the piece of paper on the pillow and I reach for it to read Alex's note. "Went to work. Didn't want to wake you. See you later. Love, A." I press the note to my heart.

Norman is not in his room but I find him in the kitchen. "Good morning, sweetie."

"Good morning, Mother. Do you want some breakfast?"

"Yes, thank you." I pour myself some coffee, already making a mental list of everything I have to do.

"It's not much, just some scrambled eggs and toast." Norman mentions.

"Well, at least Alex had the presence of mind to get something before or we wouldn't even have that. I have to go grocery shopping today anyway. And to the store to get a new cell phone. And there's cleaning, and laundry and cooking. House work never ends. But first, I have to call Dr. Edwards and make sure he sees you this week, the sooner the better. You need your meds."

"I told you I'll get a job and I'll pay for my own health insurance…"

"And I heard you the first time, but in the meantime, you are under Alex's insurance and you are going to see Dr. Edwards." I eat my scrambled eggs and Norman does the same.

* * *

I missed White Pine Bay. I never thought I'd say that but it's true. This town has been hell for me, but it also has been the start of a new life that I'm finally able to enjoy. There are a few things I would like to live without, like Norman's condition, or Dylan's desire to distance himself from me. I miss him too. But I will fix both of those situations. I know I will.

Suddenly I realize I'm close to the station and decide to go visit Alex.

"Hi." I begin to speak to Regina. "Is, um, Alex in?" I feel suddenly acutely aware of the deputies' eyes on me and I didn't want to call Alex 'my husband' in front of them. I've been here so many times before and now it feels somewhat presumptuous to call him by his relation to me. It feels as if I were expecting special treatment because I'm his wife now. But I also saw Regina's little smirk, I can't stand her but I know the feeling is mutual, so I just wait for her to announce me.

"Sheriff, your wife's here." She mentions on the phone. "Go right in, Mrs. Romero." She says while buzzing me in.

"It's Bates."

"I'm sorry?"

"The name, it's still Bates." But she looks at me like I just grew another head so I shrug. "Nevermind. Thank you." I fake smile politely at her.

I go into his office and he's already standing up from his chair to greet me. "Is everything alright?" It pains me that our first mutual reaction is always thinking something is wrong.

"Yes! I was just driving close by and thought I'd surprise you." He reaches for my hands and kisses me softly on the lips.

"I am happily surprised. Sit down. What you've been up to today?" He directs me to the chair and sits on his desk in front of me.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

I take a deep breath. "Well, I went grocery shopping, then went back to the house, started cleaning but it's going to take a couple of days to finish, unpacked our bags, did four loads of laundry, went out again 'cause I was going to get a new cell phone, but that's when I drove by and decided to come see you. Oh! And called Dr. Edwards, and he is seeing Norman tomorrow, so I have to drive him up to Pineview, which is why I need a cell phone. I don't like driving that far without one." He's looking at me with a strange amused expression.

"What?" I ask him.

"And here I thought by not waking you this morning I was helping you. I figured you were going to take it slow today."

"No, too much to do. But thank you for not waking me up, the little bit of extra sleep helped a lot." I smile and he does the same. "Anyway, I should go. You're working and I still have to cook dinner and get the phone…"

"About that…" he starts as he walks over to his desk drawer. "You don't have to buy new cell phones." He comments while reaching for a plastic bag and giving it to me. I see mine and Norman's phones are inside.

"How did you…? I thought we lost them that night." I am so confused right now.

"They were found inside your car, in the glove compartment. They were considered evidence but since none of them received any calls or texts, or had any other fingerprints except your own, they were released. I kept them. Just go to the store and see if the service is still on, you'll just need to pay for that, but you have your phones."

I keep looking at the phones in the bag while listening to him. "I didn't put them in the car." I look up to him. "How did they make it there?" I hear my own voice ask but I already know the answer.

"Norma, he was just trying to keep you from making or receiving any more calls…"

"From you."

"Yes, I guess so. Listen, talk to him if you want. But remember how angry he was, I think he's still acclimating to the idea that we're married, so let's deal with it with cool heads, ok?"

I stand up and hug him. He's the only one who can keep me calm. "Okay." Then I see something.

"You have a picture of us on your desk?" I'm already smiling broadly, all anger forgotten. I look back at him and his demeanor is shy, like a kid getting caught doing something he was not supposed to do.

"Um, yes. Do you like it?"

"Do I like it? I love it! That is such a beautiful picture. How did you get it?"

"The photographer came in one day and gave it to me. They usually do just because I'm the Sheriff. But I never wanted to put one of my pictures from the Winter Lights Festival on a frame on my desk, so you can take all the credit for that."

I smile at him accepting his compliment. "I only saw the one they published on the paper but I like this one even more. Just the two of us."

* * *

"Normaaaaan!" I call out as soon as I enter the house later. I look up and see him. "Come down here. I have to talk to you." I keep walking towards the kitchen.

I'm already chopping the fresh vegetables when I hear him. "What is it, Mother?"

"Look into that bag, there's something for you in there." I watch his face as he finds his cell phone inside it.

"Turns out I didn't have to buy new cell phones because our old phones are not lost anymore." I try to keep the calm in my voice. "Are you going to say anything?"

"What do you want me to say, Mother? That I hid the phones in the car? I guess you already know that. What, the Sheriff came in and saved the day again?"

"He did not save the day. He found my car in Portland, and our phones inside it, and he brought my car back. And he also kept the phones, you know, just in case we needed them some time."

"Well, I'm glad."

"Why did you do it, Norman?" I want to hear him say it. I'm already on the verge of tears and can see his face softening.

"I thought it was best if we left without having any connection here. We could get new phones in Florida."

"You knew Alex called me that night, didn't you?" At his silence I get my answer.

"You saw how devastated I was. And even like that I agreed to leave, to leave our home, to leave my husband, just so you could be happy. That's what you told me, that you'd be happy if we left. That we could start over somewhere else." I of course leave the part out about him wanting to kill himself; don't want to remind him of that threat he made, the real reason why I left with him. "But you lied to me. And you basically stole and hid my phone from me, just so I wouldn't call Alex back?!"

"It worked didn't it?"

"I do not appreciate being manipulated by you like that. Don't ever do that again!"

"You think I manipulated you? You are the one who manipulated all this! We came back because you wanted to, because you wanted your precious Alex back. Well, Mother, all this is your making. But I do not have to like it."

He leaves and I hear the front door being slammed shut.

* * *

A month ago I couldn't stand the sight of this house. I would drive by at night just to see it looming there, on top of the hill, its complete darkness reminding me she was not inside. But now the lights are on in the windows, and I park my patrol car next to her vintage one, and quickly go up the stairs.

"Norma?" I call once inside as I don't hear any sounds. "Norma!"

"Upstairs!" She shouts back.

Reaching the bedroom I am instantly worried when I see her seating on the edge of the bed, her back to the door. I take off my jacket, place it on the bed and go around it to sit next to her. She's already drying her tears on the back of her hand. "Norma, what happened?" I'm trying not to sound too on edge but whenever I see her crying I want to punch somebody.

"I fought with Norman."

"About the phones?"

"Yes. He didn't even say he was sorry. He was so angry and showed no remorse. He said I manipulated him into coming back because I just wanted to be with you."

"Shh, don't cry. His doctor's appointment is tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Because maybe he'll be able to vent some of his frustration there and come back calmer." I'm rubbing her shoulders and she's already breathing slower and not crying. I kiss her temple, her cheek. She moves her hand to my face and kisses me. "You know, picking up the pieces of something that might be broken is the hardest part. Remember after the hurricane passed everything we had to clean and clear away? It's the same in life, you know that. And it may be with Norman too." I don't tell her how he told me she was _his_ and only his since I don't want to add stress to her already worried state. "We'll get through this." She nods. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know. He left the house like an hour ago." She rests her head on my shoulder.

"Are you hungry? Dinner is ready." She offers.

"Yes, I am. But not for food." I tell her and she moves her head back to look at me. I see the corner of her mouth turning to the side, in that alluring way she smiles.

I start kissing her neck. She laughs. "Alex." It sounds like a warning but I also catch a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"What?" I mumble against her skin and gently push her down on the bed. She's quickly the one kissing me and I keep my arm around her neck while the other goes around her waist. Our legs are dangling from the edge of the bed, only the top of our bodies resting on the mattress. I slowly let go of her and kiss my way down her neck, her chest and her stomach through her clothes. I kneel on the floor; put my hands under her skirt and start inching her panties down. She sits up resting on her elbows, watching me, her chest rising and falling with her fast breathing.

"What's for dinner?" I quiz her while caressing her soft thighs.

"Huh?"

I love how fast her brain stops concentrating on anything else but sex whenever we get busy.

"Dinner. What did you cook?" I slowly slid her underwear over her shoes and toss the garment aside.

"Chicken..." She stops when I take her right leg and put it over my shoulder. I wait. "Rotisserie chicken fresh greens and mashed potatoes." She rushes it all out in one long word.

"Sounds delicious. Not as delicious as you, though. I'd rather have dessert first." And I disappear under her skirt.

The only disadvantage of having her skirt over my head is that I can't see her, but I can feel her bucking over me so hard I have to put my arm over her hip and belly to hold her down. My other arm is wrapped around her leg that is currently pushing me closer to her center. The canopy of her skirt is creating a cocoon of darkness where my only working senses are smell and taste and it's the perfect scenario for devouring her the way I want to. I missed this so much. Judging from her reaction, she missed it too.

"Alex, oh god!" She's panting and gasping for air. "You're going to… ah! suffocate down there… oh god!" I love that she's worried about my well-being. Don't worry, Norma, I'd die happily here and now.

I can feel her start to tremble against my tongue and I redouble my efforts. Where before I was licking and teasing, I now press hard and suck and it drives her crazy. I suck her clit a few times the way I know she likes it and she comes undone. I keep my mouth pressed to her wetness until I feel her stop shaking.

I get out from under her skirt just in time to see her with her head still thrown back, mouth open trying to get as much oxygen as she can. Her hands are closed fists around the bed comforter. When she feels my gaze upon her she slowly opens her eyes. She rises to sit up and kisses me, holding my face steady with her hands.

Hooking my arm under her knees, I pick her up and move her all the way up to the bed, and I move to rest on top of her. She quickly spreads her legs welcoming me. She kisses me again, making a sound low in her throat when I push against her, and starts undoing my fly. She takes me in her hand, moving slowly up and down, and I grow harder than I already was. She aligns my length with her entrance and I slide into her body.

The fact that we're fully clothed and I haven't seen one part of her body except her legs is not lost on me. I find the whole sensation strangely erotic. I can hear fabric rustling and I just hope I don't chaff her delicate thighs with the roughness of my work pants.

"Harder." I hear her demand and I groan against her neck. She's grasping at my shoulders and neck for dear life. I thrust harder and her moans urge me more. I push into her faster and harder, and I can feel my arms starting to buck against the pressure of holding myself up so as not to crush her.

She must have felt it too, because her legs wrap high around my waist, her grip on my neck gets tighter and she whispers in my ear, "Fuck me, Alex" and I can't hold back anymore. I fuck her so hard I can hear the grunts involuntarily escaping her throat with the force of my thrusts, the bed's headboard slamming against the wall and our skin slapping against each other's.

I feel her muscles contract around me and I follow shuddering in her arms, spilling everything inside her depths and allowing my full weight to rest on top of her.

When I come back to it she is lovingly running her hands through my hair. I turn my head and kiss her just below her ear, the closest part of her my lips can reach at the moment. I feel sedated, but I remember I must be making it hard for her to breathe so I try to move away from her body but she holds on to me. "Stay."

"I must be crushing you."

"No, you're not. Just stay a little longer."

After a few minutes pass I do move, slipping out of her and tucking myself back in my pants. She just turns on her side facing me, an angelic and satisfied smile on her face. Her skirt already covering her. I put my hand on her waist.

"Do you want to eat now? I'm starving!" She notes dramatically.

I laugh. "Yes. Let's go. But I have to say, my appetite has been spoiled now."

"Well, you're the one who wanted dessert first."

"It is always wise to eat the best part first." She rolls her eyes at me.

Then we hear something and we both freeze.

"Mother?" His voice is coming from the hallway and we both look at the door at the same time to realize I had let it open when I came in.

Norma looks horrified. "Norman?" She blurts out and then makes a 'duh' gesture at her own question. Who else could it be?

We look at each other and we quickly sit up on the bed. Although I doubt anyone who sees us now cannot know what just happened here.

Norman appears on the doorway just as Norma is standing up and trying to smooth down her wrinkled skirt and messed up hair. I swing my legs to the side of the bed. He looks at her first, and takes in her tousled appearance, then back at me and the untidy bed. I nod at him and keep my gaze steady on him, silently daring him to say anything. We're all adults here and frankly, this whole situation is ridiculous. And I'm not happy with him right now for making Norma sad and angry earlier today either. I've been patient enough but sometimes his actions are just plain irritating.

"Mother, what's for dinner?" He calmly asks.

"Yes, sweetie, dinner is ready. We were just about to go down to eat ourselves. I mean… to eat dinner, ourselves." She tries but falters in her nervousness and I stand up and go over to her.

"Let's go. I want to eat _dinner_ too." I say with double meaning and she opens her eyes wide and I give her a quick peck on the cheek. Norman can't see her expression because I'm blocking his view of her with my body but I make sure he sees me kiss her. I shouldn't do this but I'm feeling territorial right now.

"Norman." I nod at him and go past him to get out of the bedroom.

"Come sweetie, let's go downstairs!" I hear Norma behind me. I look back to see she's already skipping down the stairs trailing me while her son starts walking slowly after her with a frown on his face.

"So, what's for dessert?" I joke and she laughs as I take her hand and lead her down the hallway.

* * *

 **A/N: PS. I just realized Norma went commando ;)**

TBC…


	7. The Surge

**A/N: Thanks to every single reviewer who has taken the time to write something! I'm so happy you liked the two previous chapters so much! Your feedback has been incredible. Since a few of you have asked: Yes, the ring has a story. Yes, we are approaching December. Does that help? I know, I didn't say much, but wait and see ;) (Also, there's a real huge hurricane going through the Caribbean and Florida right now, and I wish the least possible loss to all those people in its path. Be safe!) Now, this chapter takes a dark turn towards the end, but as hard as it was to write it, know everything will be okay in the end, right? Quick thank you to GeneHarl0w, who helped me with a minor freak out I had for this chapter.**

Possible trigger warning: Physical violence, attempted sexual assault. Not too graphic but it is there.

* * *

Today has been a long and hectic day. I was pulled into a million different directions and the fact that I've just come back from a trip to Florida and all that I've had to deal with while down there for those few days have taken a toll. Barely two days back at work and I can't wait for the weekend so I can finally rest.

I open the front door and I'm greeted by the comforting smells of Norma's cooking and I'm already slowly starting to feel better. But instead of going straight into the kitchen where she probably is, and make my presence known to her, my feet drag my body only as far as the living room and I drop my weight into the sofa.

"Alex? Is that you?" I hear her from the hallway and I don't even have the stamina to answer her. I immediately feel bad when she comes into the living room wiping her hands on her apron and I see her slightly worried face.

"Hey." I greet her.

"Why didn't you answer me?"

"I'm sorry. I don't have the energy to even talk." She quickly comes closer and sits down next to me.

"What is it? Are you sick?" She asks while putting the back of her hand to my forehead feeling my temperature.

"No, don't worry." I see her concerned face and try to reassure her everything's fine. "Really, I'm not sick, just tired from the traveling, and going back to work, and today was an awful day and I just wanted to be home… with you." I take her hands in mine.

"I'm sorry you're so tired. Why don't you go relax a little bit? I'll bring your dinner upstairs, and you can go to bed early." She's offering all kinds of remedies but all I want is her.

"Hmm. Let me hold you here for just a bit."

She lets me wrap my arm around her as she rests her head on my shoulder. My other hand keeps playing with her fingers.

"How was Pineview?" I ask her.

"It was fine."

"Do you care to elaborate a little bit more?"

"Um, Norman didn't tell me much on the way back. Except that he needs to see the doctor three times a week, and he was not happy about that. Dr. Edwards mentioned he wants to talk to me privately sometime next week. But, I don't want you to worry about that. I'll deal with it. I'll drive him and I already told him he has to go to all his appointments."

"Okay. But you let me know if you need help. With him or anything else." She stays silent. "I mean it." I squeeze her shoulder to get her attention.

"Yes, yes, okay, I will."

A long moment pass and the smell of her hair and the softness of her hands have soothed me to the point I'm feeling a little sleepy. But then my stomach makes a growling sound and she laughs.

"I think you are most definitely hungry."

"Yes, I am." I answer in all honesty.

"Go upstairs then. I'll bring your food up."

"No, I'll sit at the table with you."

"Are you sure? You're not going to fall asleep on me are you?"

"I'll try not to."

"If you do, I'll have to leave you there. I can't carry you upstairs."

I smile at her and kiss her. I'm completely lost in the kiss and the feel of her when I hear the sound of the foyer door being shut forcefully and we're both startled by it.

"Sorry to interrupt." Norman says but he doesn't look sorry at all.

"Hi, sweetie. Did you find what you were looking for in the store?" Norma asks him without shying away from my embrace and I feel proud that she's making this kind of improvement. She's not hiding her closeness to me anymore for his sake and I'm glad.

"Yes, I did." He answers.

"Good. Let's eat dinner then." She stands up and offers me her hand and I take it. She does a show about pulling me up to my feet even though I'm the one doing all the effort.

"Good evening, Norman." I direct at him as we both start following Norma into the kitchen.

"Good evening, Alex." He sounds civil but he looks rather annoyed.

Dinner made me feel so much better. The fatigue that was claiming my body is already forgotten. I think Norma was right, and aside from being tired, I was also hungry. I never paid too much attention to food; I just ate whenever I needed to and most of the times it was take-out from whichever restaurant was closer. The frozen meals I bought were for emergencies for when I arrived home, and much like today, felt the need to fill my empty stomach fast.

But with Norma the whole eating experience is entirely different. It's not only doing something that you have to do to survive, but a process of preparing the meal (which I know she thoroughly enjoys), then seating down to savor the always delicious food she makes and then doing dishes and clearing the kitchen for the night. For someone like me who was used to eating in front of the TV alone at night, I find the whole thing completely enthralling and pleasurable, even when Norman is sitting with us and making bored faces at our mundane light conversation. At least this evening didn't end with an ax being swung at me.

I announce that I'll be taking the trash out, and go over to her where she's finishing the dishes and press a lingering kiss in the space between her earlobe and neck, just to let her know I mean something else entirely. She gasps softly and looks at me and I know she understood my hidden proposal.

She looks back at Norman, who's cleaning the table with a rag, and he looks back at us with an unreadable expression.

"Well, I'm done here. I'll be up in my room. Goodnight." He says too politely and leaves.

"I'll wait for you at the motel." I murmur and can see the tremble that runs through her body at my words.

10 minutes later she is already here closing the door to Room 1 behind her with a wicked smile on her face. "I thought you were tired and were going to sleep early."

"What can I say? Your cooking gives me energy." I say reaching for her and flopping back on the bed with her on top of me. She laughs and it is music to my ears.

"But we have to be quick. You're supposed to be taking the trash out and I'm... I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be doing down here." She gasps into my mouth when I reach around and squeeze her ass and bite her neck softly at the same time.

"OK." I simply agree while I roll us over and proceed to show her, in a fast but very efficient way, how much she means to me.

* * *

"Mother, can you drop me off at the library?" Norman says while I drive us back from Pineview for the third time this week.

"Sure, sweetie. You want me to wait for you?"

"No, that's not necessary. I can take the bus back home."

"OK. But don't come in too late, you have to take your meds on time."

"Yes, Mother. It'll take only a couple hours."

"I'll run a couple errands first. See you at home then."

I try to fix his hair before he exits the car but he gets away from me too fast. I decide to go do something I've been thinking about the entire week.

* * *

It's around 3pm when I go back to the house before a meeting I have early tonight.

"Norman?" I hear her as soon as I open the door.

"No, it's me."

She comes running to greet me. "Alex! What are you doing here so early?"

"I have to pick up some papers that I need for later today."

"Well, I'm glad you're here because I have a surprise for you!" She sounds excited and before I can ask anything she's pulling me into the living room and then stops and looks at me. "Do you see anything different?"

I look around and see the furniture, the TV, the curtains; everything that looks the same as before. "No, I don't see any difference."

"Oh! Come on, Sheriff! I thought your investigative skills were better than that."

I keep looking but don't see anything new so I look at her questioningly and see her eyes are not so subtly darting to the end table next to us, the one that's behind the sofa. I follow her gaze and see what she's been so excited about. I grin foolishly at the big framed picture of us in the middle of the others of herself and her sons. I look back at her and she's biting her bottom lip nervously. "I see now. How did you get it?"

"I went to the newspaper offices. Asked for the photographer, but he was not there, so I talked to the editor. Turns out nobody can say no to the Sheriff's wife." She mentions triumphantly.

I laugh. "I bet you were very persuasive." She's smiling proudly.

"I asked for the digital versions and then printed a few copies. Look! I also put us here." She gestures towards another table on the other side of the room. "And put a couple in our bedroom too."

"I'm glad you like those pictures so much. I'm not too fond of looking at my own face in pictures but if it makes you happy, then I'm fine with it."

"That's not the only reason I did it." She then mentions in a low voice and I'm intrigued.

I silently wait for whatever she's going to say next.

"I just thought… since you're living here now..." She looks hesitant.

"Yes?"

"I just thought it wasn't nice of me to have pictures of my dead ex-husband all over the house."

And then I look around again and realize the pictures of Sam Bates are not there anymore. My mouth hangs slightly open. Ever since I first met her and set foot in her house for the first time, as a mere investigator of the new mysterious and suspicious woman in town, I noticed her many framed photos. I hated to admit it to myself then, but I paid particular attention to the ones where she was wearing a wedding dress, and the many others with who I correctly assumed was her dead husband, since she had mentioned she was a widow.

"Norma, you didn't have to do that. I didn't mind, I don't mind…" She interrupts me.

"No, I know, but that's what I'm saying. It's something _I_ wanted to do. I didn't want to be disrespectful to you by having Sam's pictures on display. Maybe at the beginning of our marriage I didn't think about it, but now… things have changed. I realized when I saw the picture in your office that I wanted our picture in our home too. And there is no reason for me to have pictures of Sam still lying around."

"But what about Norman? He was his father. I don't think he'll be too happy to see you took his pictures down."

"I put his father's pictures in his room. That's where they should be." She notes seriously and then her face suddenly changes.

"You know what else I want?" Her smile is hopeful, childlike.

"What do you want?"

"I want more pictures of us. I want to take our picture by the bay, at the park, on the beach… during daylight, at night. I want the whole house filled with pictures of us!" She twirls around like she's dancing. She looks lovely in her blue dress and grey cardigan. I love seeing her like this; happy and making plans.

"Do you have a camera?" She nods. "Then, when do we start?" And she hugs me and I can feel the happiness radiating off of her.

"Alex…"

Her hands are on the back of my neck; mine, as always, are on her backside. "Yes?"

"Do you know why I love pictures so much? I mean, to display them?"

"I don't think you have told me, no. But I kind of noticed you are very fond of framing pictures." I say lightheartedly.

"Do you have a minute? I want to tell you a story."

"Yes. I have to go back to the station but it can wait."

She smiles and takes my hand leading me to the sofa. We sit facing each other.

"When the boys were little I used to take a lot of photos of them with an old camera I had. But I wouldn't see those pictures until time had passed because you know, you had to take them to develop, and it cost money, and I barely had time for that while taking care of them too."

I'm looking intently at her and she keeps going. "For our 8th wedding anniversary Sam gave me a digital camera. I know, he was not big on romantic gestures, but at least he got me something that for once I could use. I was happy I could finally take pictures of the boys and actually see them."

She takes a deep breath. "But then I started wanting to print them out too. Sam didn't like me doing it, said it was a waste of money, and he didn't like when I started putting them in frames either. But I ignored him and kept on doing it anyway even after he broke just as many during any of his fits. I used to tell him, 'you keep breaking them, I'll keep buying them'. I think that's why he left me alone with it. I saw those pictures as the story of my life; they were physical proof that there were some good times too. That I had two beautiful sons; one that hated to have his picture taken and another that would let me take as many of him as I wanted." She mutters with a dreamy expression as if remembering those moments past.

"I thought that with those pictures I was creating something. That one day, when I was old, and my boys were men, I could look at all those photos and remember my past. I wanted to create a memory not only for me, but also for them, so they could have pictures to show their future kids, and they could also remember there were a few happy days…" Her eyes have become teary and she hangs her head a little.

"Hey." I say lifting her chin with my finger. She looks at me.

"I want to create memories of us. I want to remember you the way you were, and I want you to remember me the way I was. And I want to look at all those photos I want to take and be reminded of beautiful moments, and smile and be happy. I want to remember a beautiful past. And now I can do it."

I take her hands that were resting on her lap and bring them to my lips. I am touched that she feels her present now can give her the beautiful memories she wants. "I think it's a great idea. And I know we haven't gotten out much, but I'll make more of an effort. I'll take you dancing; I'll take you to gardens, to the theater, to concerts…"

"All my favorite singers are dead."

"Then we'll go see my favorite singers."

"I'll have to approve of your musical taste first." She arches her eyebrow for emphasis.

"Deal." She smiles. "We'll go anywhere you want. And we'll take lots of pictures, but you have to be in all of them because you're the pretty one." I tell her and her smile grows. "But now I have to go back to work, okay?"

"Okay. And Alex… you are beautiful." Now I'm the one smiling at her earnest words. If I could blush, I probably would right about now.

"Umm, I may be back a little later than usual, there's a town meeting at 6 with all the officials, and it may take a few hours." I kiss her goodbye and am almost out the door.

"Alex, the papers you came looking for?"

"Right. Thank you!" I quickly go upstairs and retrieve them. She's waiting for me by the open door.

"See you later." I kiss her again.

"Bye, see you tonight. I love you." She waves from the balcony as I walk outside.

"I love you too."

* * *

I'm woken up by sounds in the kitchen. I've fallen asleep on the sofa after eating by myself since Norman hadn't come home and Alex was going to be late.

"Norman? Is that you?"

"Yes, Mother." I sigh in relief, he's home. I'm about to meet him in the kitchen when he appears in the living room.

"Did you eat already?"

"Yes, I saw you were asleep, didn't want to wake you. I was just doing my dishes now, sorry I woke you anyway."

"That's ok; I didn't want to nap for too long. Was your trip to the library okay?"

Silence is his response. My back is to him as I'm fixing the blanket I was using and I turn around to see his eyes fixated on something on the other side of the room. I don't need to look to know what it is.

"You put pictures of the sheriff in our home."

"Yes I did, and he's not the sheriff here. He's my husband and he asked you to call him Alex."

"And you had to put his picture in here?"

"Yes, because I want his picture here. They're not even pictures of him; is both of us together, so don't make a big deal out of it. And anyway, he's part of the family now."

"And you took my father's pictures down."

"Norman, your father's pictures are in your room. When we moved to this town I had to keep up appearances. I was a recent widow and I was supposed to be in mourning still. You and I both know that was not the case. I just, well, I'm not a widow anymore. I don't need to have Sam's photos in the living room. It was disrespectful to Alex. "

"I cannot believe you brought that man to our house."

"What?" I turn around to fully face him now. "What do you mean?"

"You talk about disrespect." His voice is angry, and deep and slow. "But you're the one who disrespects me, and yourself and this house by bringing men here."

"Norman! I will not allow you to speak to me like that! I have never brought men into this house. And I did that out of respect to you, and Dylan, and even the memory of your father; for your sake. Not that he deserved anything, he was not a nice man and you know it. And Alex is not any man I picked up on the street, he's my husband!"

"Does he know of all the men before him? I can give him a list."

"Norman, stop it."

"And what hurts me the most, is how you believe that you're happy."

"I'm not 'believing' anything. I am happy."

"He cannot make you happy."

"He does, and I love him."

He's moving around the living room and then stops in front of the table.

"I see you put him in between our pictures. First you put up Dylan's picture, now his."

"Norman, I love you. I already told you once; my love for Alex has nothing to do with my love for you. You're my son."

He slowly and deliberately moves his hand across the table and for a moment I think he's going to throw everything to the floor, like his father used to do, but he just looks at me with ire in his eyes and runs up the stairs.

"Norman!" I go after him.

He locked his door. "Norman, please. Don't be mad. Try to understand. I love you; nothing ever is going to change that."

After long minutes pass and it's clear he's not answering me, I go to my room. I've been looking out the window when I feel him. I turn around.

"Norman." I slowly go over to him, my maternal instinct telling me to hug him, to make him feel all the love I have for him. But something is not quite right. His eyes are not the same, they look empty.

"Norman?"

"You think you can sneak around to the motel to sleep with him and I wouldn't notice?"

My eyes go wide at his words.

"Well, I have, Mother. I've seen you with my own eyes and it is disgusting and I would not let you do this."

A huge gasp escapes my throat. "Norman…" I hear my own voice breaking.

"I will not share you with him. Because you are _mine_."

My dear sweet broken boy.

It only takes a second and my worst fear becomes real and I fall to the floor, hitting the back of my head on impact, and feel my throat closing. My eyes go wide in surprise, in denial, this is not happening. My survival instinct is to fight back, but he is too strong, he has become so strong. Then there's pain. Pain shooting through my face and my limbs and I feel the tears pouring hotly out of my eyes, and I think of Dylan, and Norman, and Alex. Oxygen is not coming. I feel my lungs starting to burn. I don't want to die.

* * *

I've never been more relieved to end a meeting. It didn't take as long as I thought it would and I'm slowly driving back to the house and thinking of everything Norma told me today. About her love of pictures, her wish of having what I know will be an absurdly amount of pictures of us taken, but that I will happily pose for. I'm thinking of buying her another camera, something vintage maybe, and I could turn an area of the basement into a photography lab. It is almost a lost art, but you can still find stores that sell equipment and stuff. I think she'll like it. I will buy her a new digital camera too. That way she can throw away the one Sam Bates gave her, must be an old thing by now if she still has that one, and I want her to make her new memories with a brand new camera, just for us.

I arrive at our house, skip the stairs two by two and open the door. My senses tell me instantly that something's wrong. I remember back to that night I came in to find her gone. But this time is different. I hear sounds; moans and grunts. The sounds are far away. I'm trying to place where they're coming from. I start walking towards the kitchen.

"Normaaaan! Noooooo! I am your mother!" I hear from the hallway and even though the voice is raw I know unmistakably that is Norma's. I start running up the stairs, hearing now the sounds are coming from up there.

"You are mine!" I hear Norman scream just as I'm about to enter our bedroom and that's when I see them. Nothing could have prepared me for what I encounter.

I instantly go into fight mode. Not only my training makes me react, but seeing Norma on the floor, clawing back at her son, who's on top of her, straddling and strangling her. I grab him by the back of his shirt and pull him off her, and as I lift him up I see the state Norma is in. I want to help her, I need to help her, but I know first I have to subdue him. He's fighting back and even though he is strong he is not stronger than me. He's kicking and screaming in a fit of rage, but I manage to turn him around and punch him in the face so hard I knock him down. He falls to the floor.

Turning my attention to Norma I reach for her as she is gasping for air, coughing, and in the next second I see her injuries. She has a bloody lip and a scary pink bruise on her face. I feel my blood start to boil in my veins.

Her neck is angry red, and she is holding it now with her own hand, as if she can't believe she is in fact breathing. She reaches for me with her left hand and I'm relieved that she recognizes me, that even in her distressed state she knows that I'm here, that she is safe now.

"Norma, baby, are you okay?" The question sounds too stupid to my own ears but I don't know what else to ask her.

"Alex." She manages to croak out in a voice too coarse and deep and she winces, her throat hurting from the effort to speak.

"It's okay, baby, I'm here." I reach for her, trying not to startle her with any sudden movement, knowing is never wise to approach an assault victim with too much familiarity. The best tactic is to talk to them first.

As soon as I see her breathing, albeit too fast and too hard to be considered normal, but knowing she is getting air into her lungs, I take in the rest of her body and notice how her shirt is torn open and her skirt is hiked up, showing big red marks on her thigh, the marks of nails scratching against skin.

"Did he do this to you?" I can't even finish my thought, but when I see her crumble and cry, desperately, agonizingly, I realize I've said the catalyst words. She can't answer but I go over to Norman, who's still passed out face down on the floor, I turn him around, and see his fly is undone. I feel the rage of a thousand hurricanes passing through my body. Like the surge rising high above ground menacing to flood and drown everything on its wake. Just when I felt the need to hit him again, I am reminded that the woman crying not two feet away from him is his mother too. I look at her and she is clutching at her shirt now too and is pleading me with her eyes. Tears streaking down her face and sobs escaping her throat. I can't hurt her son in front of her, much less while he's already unconscious. I swallow my own desire for revenge, put the handcuffs on him and dial 9-1-1.

When I come back into the room from opening the door to the paramedics, Norma is still on the floor, but is now holding her son to her chest, as if he were a small child. He is still unmoving and pale. Her face is one of agony, new tears down her face, her makeup pooling into a black mess under her eyes. And her eyes, her eyes are almost gone, sad beyond belief, horrified, it's like they have seen the worst imaginable thing.

And maybe she has.

* * *

TBC…


	8. Surveying the Damage

**A/N: How are we doing so far? I hope this chapter helps a little to ease the pain left from the previous one. I know it helped me. Thanks for every review posted, especially solveariddle, WhereAreWeGoing and GeneHarlow, who so nicely have done for every chapter so far. To all Guests reviews who I can't reply to (WickedHouse and Coco too) know they all mean so much to me too. And to the others who do not post reviews but tell me again and again how much you love the story, you know who you are ;) Thanks!**

* * *

She's looking at herself in the mirror. Lightly touching the side of her face where is still red, her lip that is no longer bleeding but showing a small purple bruise, and her neck; where red lines are marking her light skin.

"You should've let me take you to the hospital." I observe from the bedroom door and I startle her, making her jump a little. "Or at least had let the paramedics checked you."

"I'm not going to the hospital for these. It's just bruises. They'll go away in a few days. I've had worse." She comments like it's no big deal but I feel her words like a knife twisting into my heart. I don't want to imagine the many times she must have been hurt before to make her say something like that. I briefly remember Shelby, that night when I came to her house after she had called the police and saw what he had done to her sons, and to her. She looks now like she did that night. Serene but vigilant; cautious after having won a terrible battle. I know she's a fighter, always has been probably, but I also wish I could've had protected her all those other times, even when I hadn't even met her. But I know that's kind of impossible.

"Norma," I begin as she is looking for something to wear to bed. "We need to talk about this. About what happened. About what are we going to do with Norman…" I mention slowly and wait for a reaction. I don't want her to have another meltdown now after she somehow stopped crying. Her rapid change of desperate wailing to apparent placidness was so fast it almost gave me whiplash. I think she was partly in shock, but also know Norma has always been mercurial, her emotions changing rapidly from the iciest cold to the volcanic hot, and I'm not new to witnessing them.

I can only imagine her fragile state now after going through what she did tonight. I only know what I saw, and from her injuries, what probably happened before I came home. Aside from that, she hasn't said a word since the paramedics arrived, since they assisted Norman and loaded him to the ambulance to transport him to Pineview. Since he technically still is a patient there, just my phone call was needed to have them take him back tonight. He had regained consciousness, well, sort of, he was awake but he didn't seem to remember anything.

She had been eerily calm through the whole process. As soon as they had started working on him, she went to the bathroom and came back with her robe on, covering her neck bruises and torn clothes. Face washed of all tears. After he was awake and I saw he was not violent anymore, I took the handcuffs off him. Norma kissed him on his forehead and saw him get taken away. Then she went back upstairs and I found her in the bedroom.

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm fine. I told you I'm fine." At that same moment her throat gives up from the effort of talking and she coughs a little. "And Norman… well, he had a black out. He didn't know what he was doing, and now he's in Pineview. We'll just wait and hear what the doctors say."

"Even if he was blacked out, even if he doesn't remember, he hurt you, Norma." I say and she looks at me like I've just thrown ice water over her head.

"Alex. I just want to go to bed. I'm exhausted. Can we talk about it another time?" She mutters and goes into the bathroom.

I wake up hours later to the absence of her. I touch her side on the bed and notice is cold which means she left it a while ago. Looking at my watch on the end table I see is 3am and then I faintly hear her. In a second I'm standing and walking towards the bathroom in the darkness, the light under the door telling me she is in there. I listen for a few seconds before I slowly open the door.

"Norma?" I call opening the door completely. She's on the floor, resting her head on the side of the tub, hugging her legs to her chest. Her cries only grow stronger when she sees me. The need for silence not necessary anymore after she sees I'm already awake.

Her eyes are red and puffy from crying. I approach her slowly, intensely aware that she's still hurting, and I sit next to her on the floor. I wrap my arm tentatively around her; she reluctantly rests her head on my shoulder, and lets out the sob she's been holding in all this time.

"He had a gun." She cries in between hiccups and I'm confused for a moment. I didn't see a gun anywhere.

"You're safe now, Norma, I'm here, you're safe." I repeat over and over again, moving my hand on her back in soothing circles, trying in vain to calm her down.

"That night, when I called you, that night you took him to Pineview. He had a gun. I was scared of my own son!" She weeps and I'm shocked at her revelation. Her voicemail that night sounded final enough for me to run to her house, terrified of what I would encounter once there, but I never saw a gun, she never told me that.

"I'm sorry, Norma." I try to reassure her and press a gentle kiss to her temple.

She's hugging me now, crying into my chest and letting the words rush out of her mouth. "This was worse." She blurts out and I feel the air leave my chest. And then her harrowing description of what happened comes next.

"He jumped at me; he put his hands around my neck…" She sobs against my chest. "I tried to get him off me. I kept calling out his name but he wouldn't listen. Maybe he hit me… I don't remember how I hurt my face. I couldn't breathe! My son, he tried to…" She stops.

'He tried to kill you.' I finish her thought in my mind. She's leaving other things out; her torn clothes, her other injuries… but I can't ask her about that now. I won't push her to face any of it until she wants to.

I can't find words to soothe her. I just hug her tighter, let her cry until she is finished, all the while running my hands down her arms and back, murmuring sweet nothings into her hair, hoping that she feels safe now.

By the time her tears stop, she has leaned heavily against me, the exhaustion of the night finally catching up with her. I stand up with her in my arms and carry her back to the bedroom. I put her down and cover her with the sheet, get into bed next to her, and make a promise again. "I will protect you, Norma. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you before, or from your son, but I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere." I vow out loud, my voice breaking the silence of the night, of our darkened bedroom, but I doubt she heard me. She is finally asleep.

* * *

After both of us woke up later than usual and had a late breakfast, I went to watch some TV since Norma announced she was going to clean the kitchen and refused my offer for help. I've always thought she's a little obsessed with cleaning, but today her mind could use some distraction, so I left her to her chores. I'm glad it's Saturday and I can not only stay in and rest, but also keep her company. I wouldn't feel at ease leaving her alone after last night's events.

I hear glass crashing on the kitchen and go to investigate. "What happened?" I ask her.

"Nothing. Just a broken plate." She answers in a sharp tone but it doesn't look like some kitchen accident, it looks like she purposely threw stuff around.

"Do you need help?"

"No, Alex. I can clean some broken glass on my own."

"Ok, but be careful." I sigh and leave her to it.

I hear some more glass breaking and I feel she's going to take all her frustration and anger out on her china. After a few minutes she comes into the living room, holding her hand wrapped in a kitchen towel.

"I hurt my hand." She explains softly.

"Norma." I say apologetically. "Where's your first aid kit?"

"Bathroom."

I go retrieve it and come back to her. She's sitting on the sofa, hands on her lap, looking like a scared little girl.

"Let me see." I instruct while unwrapping her hand from the bloody towel. "Ok, it's not that bad. I don't think you need stitches."

"Oh. But there was so much blood."

"Yes, because it's the hand. Lots of tiny veins." I put the bandage firmly into her small cut.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." I smile at her and her face softens. She releases a huge exhale and leans into me. I sit back on the sofa, letting her settle next to me. She tucks her legs under her and rests her body against my side. I wrap my arm around her.

"Alex. I want to go see Norman." She whispers. I knew this was coming but didn't think it was going to be that fast. "I don't want to go alone. Would you go with me?" She finishes and I feel so many things at once: rage at remembering what he did to her, fear that she might want Norman to come back home again, and sadness that she feels scared to see him alone.

"Yes, Norma, of course I'll go with you. When do you want to go?"

"I don't know yet. Soon, I think."

"Ok, you let me know."

"Alex, thank you for being here, for making me feel safe, it's still true. I've always felt safe when you were here."

I hug her tightly, feeling thankful I didn't lose her last night. The relief washing over me that I came back when I did.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you this time. I'm sorry Norman hurt you. I'm so, so sorry." I swallow my own emotions. I have to be strong for her.

"It's not your fault; none of it is your fault."

* * *

The rest of the day and evening went without anything else being broken. I helped Norma cook. Well, she let me chop some vegetables, which she then proceeded to cut into the exact shapes and sizes she wanted. She told me I was a good sheriff but that my talent was not in the kitchen. I felt slightly wounded but she smiled at my hurt expression and gave me a quick kiss to soothe my bruised ego. It was such a lighthearted and simple moment, nothing like the previous night, but I knew the dark clouds could not be far away for long. There was still much left to deal with, but for now we enjoyed each other's company and the chance for a relaxing evening.

We ate and then I did the dishes since Norma had the cut on her hand. She assured me it was healed, and to be honest, it almost was. I noticed with relief the red mark on her face was gone and her neck was looking better too, although you could still see some bruising on it.

Even with the only activities of the day having been cooking, eating, and watching TV, we are both extremely tired and decide to go to bed early. I come in to the bedroom as Norma is already changing her clothes. She's dressed only in her underwear and I stop my movements when I catch sight of the marks on her body. Aside from the scratch marks I had seen on her thigh, there is another bruise I hadn't seen yet, on the back of her thigh. Without more clothes covering her, the marks on her neck and her thighs seem more intense than ever. She looks so vulnerable. I want to make sure the person who did this to her never sees the light of day or freedom ever again. Easier said than done.

She notices my eyes on her and just keeps on going. She moves next to the bed, starts taking the comforter off it, and I move to the other side to help her. Once the bed is unmade, she takes off her bra, and puts on her nightgown quickly in an attempt to cover her injuries rather than her nudity from my eyes. We get into bed.

She moves closer to me and puts her arm across my stomach. I wrap my arm around her and she rests her head on my shoulder the way she likes to. She then kisses my cheek, lingers there, breathes me in.

"Alex? I don't want to have sex tonight." She surprises me. Nothing is further from my mind; I did not expect her to want to be intimate so soon after last night.

"Norma, please. You don't need to worry about that now."

"But I do want to be close to you. And I want you to kiss me. Is that okay?"

I look into her big beautiful eyes and move a blonde curl out of her face, and she leans in. The kiss in soft but passionate, vehement in its intention. The emotions of the last two days flowing between us, our lips and tongues finding the reaffirmation that she's alive, breathing and pulsing in my arms. She sighs softly and ends the kiss.

"It won't be long."

"You tell me when you're ready."

"Goodnight, Alex."

"Sleep well, Norma."

* * *

The drive back from Pineview has been silent. When Norma woke up she said she wanted to go today so I took her. Dr. Edwards wanted to talk to Norma and she had wanted me there too.

I've never heard of that diagnosis before. Dissociative Identity Disorder; which apparently makes Norman experience a disturbance in his identity, and different personalities can take control of his brain and his behavior. The doctor also mentioned he has traits of Oedipus complex. No wonder the kid is so messed up. I feel bad for him and I feel bad for Norma. It must not be easy to hear that your child is sick.

We arrive at the house. Norma quickly gets out and goes up the outside stairs. After I've done the same and had gone up halfway, she turns around and starts running downstairs and then towards the motel.

"Norma! Where are you going?" She doesn't stop or answers me so I follow her.

She's already opening the door to Room 1 when I catch up with her. She enters the room and starts looking at the windows, moving curtains out of the way. She goes into the bathroom and does the same to the windows there. The lamp hits the floor, as does the phone and clock on the table, she's moving objects out of the way without care in her haste to find something.

"Norma, what are you doing? What are you looking for?"

She's panicking. I already know the telltale signs. Her breathing is fast, her movements are erratic, and her eyes are wild. She'll be screaming any minute now.

"Norman said he spied on us. I don't know how, but he said so."

"What?" I try to understand her. In my desire to calm her I grab her shoulders and she flinches like I burned her.

"He said he saw us having sex here! He told me!" And she takes off running again.

With what Dr. Edwards revealed to us today and Norman's behavior ever since I married his mother; his jealousy, his possessiveness, his assault on her. Some things are starting to make sense now.

When I enter the living room Norma is already hysterical.

"He kept saying 'You are mine' and 'You told me this is what you wanted'." She's pacing around.

The 'mine' comment takes my mind back to our conversation in Florida, when he told me the same thing.

"Norma, I'm sorry I have to tell you this now but he said the same thing to me once; that you were his, that he would not share you with me. And he was not blacked out when he said it. I didn't mention it because I didn't want you to worry. Now I feel stupid for not foreseeing something like this could happen."

She's shaking her head 'no', trying to deny the truth she already knows.

"I found a hole in the wall, at the motel, straight through the wall to the office. He probably did spy on us."

"He didn't know what he was doing." She's walking backwards, putting distance between her and me.

"You and I are not psychiatrists but you heard Dr. Edwards. He's sick. Norman is sick. And he hurt you."

"You don't think I know that?! He had his hands around my neck! I couldn't breathe. The person who I gave birth to was trying to…" She stops.

'To kill me', but she still can't say it. How could she? How could any mother? I see her put her hand on her neck like she's reliving the whole moment again.

"I also think Norman is in love with you." She looks at me with pain in her eyes.

"He's my son!"

"A son that tried to force himself on you!"

She gasps and her demeanor is that of a wounded animal, caged, desperately trying to run. I hate myself for telling her this. But I can't let her take Norman out of that institute, not now, not again.

"And I hope you're not thinking of letting him out of Pineview. You did it once and look what happened!" As soon as the words leave my mouth I regret them but the fear that she might be hurt by him again is too grand, too impossible for me to ignore.

"Shut up! Leave me alone! Leave me the hell alone!" She screams with all the fury her body can muster and runs upstairs.

I press my fingers down on the bridge of my nose and sit down on the sofa. I put my head between my hands and hear her crying upstairs. When I go later to check up on her she has fallen asleep, curled up and sniffing like a small child.

* * *

I'm running but I don't know where to. My feet get buried on the ground and it's becoming difficult to move. But I won't stop. I keep running. I feel like someone is trying to catch me and I must keep moving. There is only darkness around me and I can barely see anything beyond the reach of my hands. The wind is picking up, and I suddenly feel very cold, my hair and my skirt blowing furiously against me. I'm alone. Why am I alone?

Then I hear thunders and I look up to the sky in fear as it opens up with the light striking brightly against its blackness. It immediately starts to rain and I try to run for cover but there's nowhere to hide. The sand is getting wet making it harder for my feet to move, but I have to get away from the boisterous thunders, from whoever is following me. Where is Alex? Where is Norman?

The rain has already soaked my clothes and my skin is covered with goose bumps. I try to generate heat by moving my hands together and rubbing them down my own arms. But I'm so cold. The wind picks up, the rain comes down on me mercilessly, and the thunders make fun of my fear roaring loudly above me. Suddenly I see a path in front of me and I follow it.

I arrive at a tranquil beach, where the sun is shining and the breeze is blowing softly. I walk towards a giant sand castle that has been built. It is beautiful. Then I see a little girl. She must be about six years old. She's blonde and blue eyed. Her hair is tied in two lovely braids that fall down each side of her face.

"Hi." I greet her in the voice I reserve for small children.

"Hi." She greets back. I look around and don't see any adults around.

"Are you here by yourself? What's your name?"

"Yes." She looks suspiciously at me. "I'm Norma."

I gasp in mild surprise. I've never met anyone with my name. Certainly not a little girl. She suddenly starts crying, and I try to comfort her but she won't stop.

"He destroyed my castle." She laments and I look around to see who she is talking about.

"Who? Who destroyed your castle?"

"I have to go." She replies.

"Wait! Where are you going? Where are your parents?"

She turns around, no tears on her face, and smiles at me. "I don't have any parents. I'm you."

And then I wake up.

I try to catch my breath, startled from the nightmare and the sudden rush of blood as I woke up too fast. My heart is beating wildly in my chest and I feel my pulse at the base of my throat. Is such an odd sensation to know your heart is beating, feeling it pumping strongly against your chest, but also being irrationally afraid that you're somehow dying.

The room is bathed in darkness, but I see him seated on the chair, his legs relaxed in front of him as he slouches deep in sleep. I turn the beside lamp on.

"Alex." I call out for him. "Alex." I repeat louder and he hears me this time.

He sits up straight, moves to release the kinks out of his neck, and rubs his eyes.

"Hey. You're awake."

"I had a nightmare. Why are you in that chair?"

"I didn't want to disturb you."

"You never disturb me."

"You seemed pretty angry at me earlier."

"I'm sorry."

"I understand. You had to be angry at someone, you needed an outlet. I know you said to leave you alone, but I couldn't. I needed to stay..."

"Because you promised."

"Never to spend another night apart." We whisper in unison and we smile at each other.

"Come here." I invite him and he moves closer, sits next to me on the bed, his back against the headboard. I quickly press myself against his side.

"I'm sorry, Alex. It's just, it's all too much. My heart is breaking for him, but I also don't want to spend another day, or night, without you. I already tried to live away from you and I couldn't. I need you." My voice is breaking because of the tears I'm holding back.

"I need you too, Norma. And I will never leave you."

"I… what he did… I can't ignore it anymore. He told me once he was attracted to me and I thought I managed it. I didn't want him to feel scared or bad so I downplayed it. But I was so scared, Alex. When I realized what he was trying to do..." I can't hold back my sobs anymore. "I couldn't go through that again. Not my son. I fought and screamed at him; I tried to make him remember I was his mother, but his eyes were gone." I feel him hugging me tighter.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm sorry I denied this for so long. I'm sorry I had to see him like that to believe he could actually hurt me."

I take a deep breath, because there are still things I need to say, things that I feel like the weight of the world on my shoulders.

"I'm tired of surveying the damage. I'm tired of trying to hold everything back together, even when it's slowly falling apart, I can't do it anymore!" I cry into his chest.

"Everything will be okay." I hear him whisper to me.

"I feel guilty for being happy... and I feel like a bad mother. Like I failed him."

"Norma, is not your fault either."

"Thank you for saying that."

"I mean it." He's pressing kisses into my hair.

We keep hugging each other tightly. I feel like I'm at sea but I'm not scared anymore. I'm not cold, or lost. I don't feel like I'm drowning. His solid chest is serving as my saving board, rising and falling softly with his even breathing, and I feel myself being lulled by the waves. He's running his fingers through my hair. I swear I can feel the warm breeze on my skin.

I feel the storm is finally dying down. I think we might have survived the hurricane. I am safe now.

* * *

TBC…


	9. Rain (Nothing Heals Me Like You Do)

**A/N: "As the Cold Rain Falls" lyrics, by Tiger Army.**

 _As the grey sky opens my heart sings_  
 _I carry a torch as the New Year rings_  
 _And I still feel the same after all this time_  
 _A future of past on my mind_

 _And I'll wait for you_  
 _As the cold rain falls_  
 _The Earth falls away_  
 _But my heart is true_

 _Tonight I remember what it was like_  
 _To hear the rain's song when you were mine_  
 _Now here in this silence my heart dies_  
 _Saved by the roar of a broken sky_

 _And I'll wait for you_  
 _As the cold rain falls_  
 _The Earth falls away_  
 _But my heart is true_

* * *

One week after Norman was admitted back into Pineview life has become somewhat normal again. There are, understandably, temporary moments of sadness for Norma. They have had a very unusual relationship, even unhealthy if you ask me, so I don't tell her that I think she looks more relaxed now that he's not around. It's like we're back to the very first days of our marriage, slowly discovering each other and enjoying the small moments.

She went to visit him once this week, and because I had an important thing at work that I couldn't miss, she had to go by herself. I apologized profusely but she said it was fine; she would meet him at the visitor's lounge anyway and won't be alone with him. When I arrived home that day she was softly sniffing while standing in front of the stove stirring some stew.

"It was fine. He was just so cold towards me. I'm feeling sorry for myself." She whimpered and wiped her tears on the back of her hand and then on her apron.

I tried to lift up her mood with conversation and compliments to her cooking. I even sat down with her to watch one of those old movies she likes, but failed miserably and fell asleep. By the end of the movie she was laughing at me and trying to pull me upstairs so I considered it a small victory.

Today I went to take my service car to the car wash, and then came back for hers; she said she didn't want to drive today so I made the double trip. It's still early when I come back to the house.

"Hey." I greet her when I find her half reclined on the bed and a few mountains of folded laundry around her.

"Hi, hon." Her term of endearment for me always makes me smile. "You're back. Both cars clean now?"

"Yes, I am and yes, they are."

"Thank you for taking mine."

"You're very welcome." I answer her and start clearing the bed and putting our folded clothes into the drawers.

"Alex? Please take me out of the house." She sighs. "I'm bored. I want to go out." She flops back down on the bed and lets her arms fall wide above her head.

I have to chuckle at her dramatic gesture. "Okay, Norma. Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere. Window shopping, to drink some hot cocoa, to give people speeding tickets… I don't care… just out."

"Hmm, I don't know. Those are not very interesting choices." I tease her and she looks at me sadly. She even pouts a little.

"Go get dressed." I see her smile and her eyes widen at my words as she jumps out of bed enthusiastically.

Thirty minutes later and I'm still waiting for her to come downstairs. I got ready twenty-five minutes ago and sat down to watch some TV while she finishes.

When she finally appears on the living room door frame, she's wearing the same coat she wore to the Winter Festival, and I do a double take. Seeing her wearing the coat I've only seen her wear that night brings me such pleasant memories.

"You look beautiful." I tell her as soon as I reach her and she ducks her head a little just like she did that night. "Let's go." I offer her my arm and she takes it happily.

* * *

We've been walking without hurry or purpose for a while now. Luckily there's the fair tonight, there's always something going on in White Pine Bay during the cold December nights, so we quickly found a place where we could pass a few hours. Norma is delighted, enjoying the music, seemingly unbothered by the throes of screaming excited kids around us. She's even paying attention to a play some of the older kids were performing in the small but, I have to admit, quite impressive stage the adults put up.

"Do you want anything?" I ask her.

"Yes, I want ice cream."

"Ice cream? But it's freezing!" I'm appalled at her choice of treat for tonight.

"So what?" She gives me that patented combo of Norma's eyebrow lifting and half shrug that I've come to know and love.

"Okay, ice cream it is."

After we find the ice cream shop and Norma orders the biggest sundae that ever existed, we go searching for a bench and we sit down. She sits very close to me and I prepare to enjoy the view of her eating her ice cream and freezing her brains out.

"Here." She offers me a spoonful of the cold sweet and I shake my head no.

"Norma, I'd rather have a shot of warm whiskey, thank you."

"You can have that later. Look, I got your favorite flavor too." She insists and shows me the big cup in her hand that undoubtedly holds her favorite flavor; cookies 'n' cream, and mine; pistachio. "You know I don't like pistachios so you have to eat it or it will ruin my flavor in there." She points to the cup with the spoon. I can't fight her rather irrational logic of putting two very distinct flavors, and one she doesn't like, in the same cup. I let her feed me my side of the sundae.

One hour later we find ourselves walking hand in hand between the small crowds. Sometimes we're greeted by people; some of them still wanting to meet my wife, some of them to tell us they're happy she's back. After they're gone I explain to her who helped me look for her when she disappeared a month ago. At her sad look I tell her, "Don't worry. Everything's fine."

I'm enjoying how she puts her arm around my back, and holds herself close to me, even more so when people approach us. She sometimes seems truly taken aback by people being nice to her. "That woman wouldn't even look at me before." She hissed with disdain after Mrs. Wilson politely stopped to greet us.

"You're the sheriff's wife now." I try to assuage her discontent.

"This town is weird. Always has, always will be." She grumbles.

"Look!" I turn around to see what has suddenly caught her attention. Of course the fair would have one of those: a photo booth; and Norma is already being pulled at it like a magnet to an iron bar, taking me with her.

I put the five dollar bill into the slot as she is already going in, moving the short curtain aside and sitting down on the small chair inside. I get in and have no idea how we're both supposed to fit in here when she half stands up and moves aside in the confined space, tells me to sit down and then sits on my lap.

"Okay, ready? Smile!" She exclaims just as the screen in front of us announces the picture will be taken. 3, 2, 1… click!

I honestly have no idea what to do for the second picture so I just look at her, and wait for the 3, 2, 1… click!

Third picture is coming up, I keep my arms wrapped around her hips, she's precariously balancing herself on my thighs and I don't want her to fall. She suddenly turns her head around, grabs my face in her hands and kisses me on the lips. 3, 2, 1… click! The fourth picture… I don't remember what happened.

Only after we get out of the photo cabin and wait for the pictures to be printed, can we look at them and see how we did in there. In the first one we're both smiling looking at the camera; in the next she moved her head in a different angle but she's still smiling and I'm looking adoringly at her, and the third one… we now have a photo of us kissing. The last one takes my breath away. Norma is resting her head on my chest and I'm pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her eyes are closed as are mine. This is how we must look when we're in bed, our favorite position to fall asleep. I can't believe she managed to have a picture like this taken in a photo booth.

She is sensing my approval of the pictures; I look at her and her joy and satisfaction shows, also a glint in her eye that says 'I told you so.'

"These are beautiful." I confess and her smile grows. Best five bucks ever spent. I put the four photos in my coat pocket and imagine in which part of the house Norma will display them.

* * *

"Oh, great!" I hear Norma from the passenger seat. "Now it has picked up!"

The rain has indeed picked up since we left the fair 20 minutes ago. It's pouring down heavily as I maneuver my way to the gravel and park in front of the house. Just as I'm about to think of a plan to avoid getting drenched I see Norma taking off her coat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'd rather take my dress to the dry cleaners and not the coat. I'll leave it in the car and run upstairs."

"I can go up and get an umbrella for you." I offer.

"But by the time you get there you'll be all wet. It's not fair. I'll just run. I'm very fast, you know?"

"Oh I know. I've seen you run up and down those stairs plenty of times." She throws her coat into the back seat and before I can say anything else she's opening the door and yelling: "I'll race you!"

I laugh to myself and at her childish approach, turn the engine off and follow her.

She is fast but I am too. She is wearing high heeled boots in the wet floor of the concrete stairs and I manage to reach her halfway. She sees me and stops running. She's smiling, she's soaked to the bone and she is beautiful.

I move just a little bit towards her and she closes the gap and crushes her mouth to mine. I kiss her like a hungry man; like she is the only nourishment available and I may die if I don't satiate myself. She presses her body to mine and I can feel her breasts against my chest, the wet fabric of her dress clinging to her curves as I roam my hands over her waist, her hips, and her backside. She is kissing me fervently, urgently, running her hands through my wet hair and my neck. The sky is breaking above us but we're not broken. We're alive and wet and happy.

We separate only because we need to breathe. Her hair is plastered to her face and I move one of her dripping curls away from her face. The cold rain is falling down upon us but we're warm. I can feel the heat radiating off her body and if it weren't raining so hard, and if it weren't so damn dark and windy all of a sudden and probably unsafe, I would take her here and now. Instead I plant an open kiss on her neck, run my tongue along her pulse point and enjoy the taste of the rain on her skin. I reach for her hand and pull her the rest of the way up.

Twenty minutes later and I'm already dry and warm in bed. We left a mess of shoes, my jacket and shirt in the foyer but Norma said she'd deal with it all tomorrow. I hear the humming sound of her hair dryer coming from the bathroom. I'm entertaining myself with a book while I wait for her. She comes into the bedroom wearing her blue robe which she quickly takes off nonchalantly. I inhale sharply at seeing her almost nude body. She's wearing pale blue satin underwear and nothing else. I try to calm my still simmering desire by thinking instead how relieved I am to see all the bruises are finally gone.

She catches me staring, and I try to look unaffected, but she flashes me a half smile which tells me she knows all the reasons I'm watching. It pleases me to know she isn't bothered by my looking at her after everything she went through just last week. She searches in a drawer and takes out a pair of pajamas. She puts on the top first, slowly closing the buttons and effectively covering herself from my still roaming eyes, and then the long pajama bottoms. I've never seen her in pajamas before, and I would be disappointed of her not wearing something sexier to bed, if only for my viewing pleasure, if she didn't look so damn cute.

The rain chooses to pound hard against the windows, a rush of wind accompanying it, and she goes to close the curtains when a thunder breaks the silence and she jumps slightly. She comes to bed, snuggles next to me, and pulls the sheets around us.

"Alex, please make the thunders stop."

I kiss the top of her head and take her hand in mine affectionately.

"When I was a little boy…" I start and she immediately turns her head to look at me and smiles suspiciously. I shrug at her as if asking 'what?' and she snuggles back into me to hear the story.

"When I was a little boy I was into swords and dragons." I try to ignore her little laugh and keep telling her the story.

"I liked to run around the house with a cape hanging around my neck and pretending I was a really powerful man who could destroy dragons with my sword. I used to fling the sword around all day long and my mother used to tell me to be careful with the crystal vases around the house." I feel her hug me a little tighter at the mention of my mom. "Then one day, I decided that my sword was not enough, and that I needed a powerful piece of jewelry to conjure magic." She laughs at this and I do too at the memory.

"I was about six or seven. It was early, my mom was still sleeping. I went into her bedroom, tiptoed so as not to wake her up, and looked around her dresser until I found a ring. I took it. It was too big for my fingers so I put it on my thumb and went to slay dragons with it."

"I'm trying to picture you as a six year old, stealing your mom's jewelry." She muses.

"Hmmm. I played for hours, until I heard my mom screaming my name. I was playing outside and she came out yelling after me. Oh! I still remember her asking me if I had seen her ring. Of course I've seen it, but I had no idea where I had put it." Norma softly gasps. I love that she's so into the story.

"She made me look around the whole house for it, she did too. I finally found it in my room, on the floor next to the action figures I had been playing with before. She was so relieved when I gave it back to her. But she was also mad. I was scared she was going to ground me." I take a deep breath.

"But she just asked me why I took it. I simply said 'because it glows, it has magical powers'. She looked at the ring on her finger and asked me if I thought the ring was pretty. I said yes. She then explained that I couldn't take it again because it was important to her. But she also promised me that, one day, that ring would be mine. I didn't understand her at the moment, but after she died… I found the ring in her bedroom, with a note that said… 'Alex, a promise is a promise, here's my ring. It's yours now. Keep it until you find the woman that makes you happy. You'll know when you meet her. Love always, Mom.'

Norma is quiet. I take her left hand, lightly touch the ring on her finger, and I hear her audibly gasp.

"You gave me… your mother's ring?" She whispers as she sits up and puts her hand on her chest. She's looking at me with the same expression of awe and surprise as the day I first put the ring on her finger, our wedding day. Her eyes are wide and shiny with unshed tears.

"Yes."

"Why?" Her question catches me by surprise. I look at her and I don't know what else to tell her except the truth. A truth I think she already knows.

"Because I loved you." I confess. "I knew you were marrying me out of convenience… but I wanted you to have something nice. I hoped that someday you would love me. And because there wasn't, or ever will be, anybody else to give that ring to. Because I've been in love with you for a while and… I love you even more now."

"Alex." I don't know if her eyes could get any bigger or if they could show more emotion, but right now, they're two deep pools of love and I want to drown in them forever.

"I love you too, Alex. And I… I can't say I was in love with you before we got married because I don't know if I was, or maybe I was and haven't realized it yet. But I loved you; I want you to know that. Every day you helped me, or protected me, or even just listened to me, I loved you. And I'm glad I married you. I'm so, so happy I fell in love with you."

I take her hand and kiss it. Then I press my lips to hers lightly, softly, and let the tip of my tongue brush against her bottom lip. I let go of her hand when she opens her mouth and I feel the need to touch her face, to caress her cheeks lovingly, with all the gentleness she deserves.

Our tongues meet and her hand moves up to my neck and we keep on kissing, hungrily and unabashedly. Open mouths, teeth biting into lips, and tongues finding and battling their counterpart. Then I feel her starting to pull me on top of her, feel her aligning her body closer to mine, her leg hiking up against my hip. I know where this is going and I suddenly freeze. I haven't touched her in a week, in anything more than a comforting and soothing way, and I need to be assured of her actions.

"Norma?" I interrupt the kiss. "Are you sure? Is this okay?"

"Yes, please, yes."

I want to take it slow and be gentle, since we haven't been intimate in over a week, but she has other ideas. She's roughly taking off my t-shirt and pushing her hips into mine in a way that is making me lose all sense of control. I take off her pajama pants and run my hands over her legs and thighs.

She's stretching on the bed like a cat. A little bit of white skin is peeking from where the pajama top ends and her underwear begins. I kiss her exposed lower belly, open one more button and press my hand firmly into her stomach.

"You look cute in these." I snicker while touching the fabric of her pajamas.

"I do?" She asks innocently. She can't even imagine what I just planned for her. The move could totally backfire but I have tested the waters before and I think she might like it. I decide to go for it.

I make sure her thighs are firmly held between mine as I straddle her. I put her arms over her head and keep them there with one hand while I take my other hand and use it to tickle her. She shrieks loudly and bucks underneath me and I start laughing too.

"Alex! Stop! Noooo… Alex!" She's screaming at the top of her lungs, but I am relentless. I keep tickling her until my own chuckles make me weak and have to let go of her arms and she starts swapping at me and trying to push me off her body, only rubbing herself more against me with each movement.

I finally take pity on her, when I see her face is red and she is gasping for air, and completely release her. She's crying too, but this time, out of delight. Her mirth is my peace of mind.

Little by little, our laughter die, and we are suddenly aware again of our positions. She pushes her hips upwards and meets the proof of my arousal. I gasp at the contact. She smiles devilishly at me and in a heartbeat we dispose of each other's remaining clothes.

We're already breathless, from either amusement or anticipation. I look into her big blue eyes and I'm not surprised by the swirl of emotions I find there. It's always the eyes with her. I would do anything to have her always looking at me the way she is now. I'm poised above her, just a few inches away from her opening, and she moves her hips, lets me know she's ready and I slide into her. She keeps me close, holding onto me with her arms and legs, never letting me move away for too long. She's meeting all my thrusts, panting and moaning.

The tension builds up quickly, our movements already fast and uncontrollable, and then she comes in my arms with my name on her lips. I empty myself into her with a shudder and a low grunt against her neck. We fall back in a tangled mess of sweaty limbs. She looks at me and laughs; openly, wholeheartedly. She looks happy. I offer her my arms and she settles in, kissing my chest while I run my hand down her back.

"Alex, the thunders stopped." I hear her before she falls asleep.

They did.

* * *

TBC…

 **Title is from "London Rain (Nothing Heals Me Like You Do)" lyrics, by Heather Nova.**

 _I'm coming home to you_  
 _I'm alive I'm a mess_  
 _I can't wait to get home to you_  
 _To get warm, warm and undressed_  
 _There've been changes beyond my dreams_  
 _Everybody wants me to sing_  
 _There've been changes beyond my grasp_  
 _Things I'm sinking in_

 _So keep me in your bed all day_  
 _Nothing heals me like you do_

 _And when somebody knows you well_  
 _Well there's no comfort like that_  
 _And when somebody needs you_  
 _Well there's no drug like that_

 _And where l'm home, curled in your arms_  
 _And I'm safe again_  
 _I'll close my eyes and sleep, sleep_  
 _To the sound of London Rain_

 _So keep me in your bed all day_  
 _Nothing heals me like you do_


	10. Clearer Skies

**A/N: Thanks for all your lovely reviews! I loved writing the previous chapter. Loved that you loved all the cuteness! Hope you like this one. There's more fluff in it ;) Thanks again!**

* * *

I wake up and as I slowly open my eyes see I'm alone in bed. Looking at my watch on the table realize I've slept later than usual. That might explain why she's not in bed with me. I mourn the gone possibility of slow and sensual morning sex, and get out of bed with a sigh, leaving the bedroom after putting on sweat pants and a t-shirt.

I can hear sounds coming from the kitchen and, after a stop at the bathroom, I follow the sounds. I'm walking barefoot so she doesn't hear me when I arrive. I take the opportunity to study her for a few seconds; she's wearing her blue robe and is humming some song I don't recognize. She's also cooking, a fair amount of food by the looks and the smells of it, and her movements are as always, precise and elegant.

"Good morning." I say from the doorframe and she turns around to look at me, a smile on her lips.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." She teases me and I make my way towards her. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her softly.

She turns around towards the stove again, but I don't want to let her go, so I just keep hugging her from behind.

"Alex, I'm making breakfast." She murmurs as I start to plant little kisses on her neck.

"I can tell." I say as I look over her shoulder down to the pan.

"Then let me finish. Don't distract me."

I chuckle and press one last kiss on her neck and move to get a cup of coffee.

"So, were you planning on eating all this by yourself?" I ask amused by the quantity of food.

"Of course not. I was going to wake you up as soon as it was ready. I just let you sleep a little more. I know you've been tired lately and since it's Saturday, I thought you might allow yourself the little indulgence." She raises her eyebrow and I chuckle.

She puts a plate in front of me. It is filled with scrambled eggs, French toasts and ham. There's a bowl in the middle of the table that has fruit cut in small pieces. Another smaller plate has pieces of cheese. There's also juice and coffee. I think Norma thinks I never ate before I met her. She has a tendency to overfeed me, but I can't complain. I love everything she makes.

"This smells good." I say in complete awe.

"I know." She agrees, a little smug smile on her face, and sits down in front of her plate. Hers is the same as mine, only in smaller proportions. We eat in silence for a while, both enjoying the delicious breakfast.

Norma finishes her food before me, and suddenly stands up, goes to the countertop and comes back with another plate.

"There's one left. We can share it." She's already cutting the last French toast in half.

"I'm fine. You eat it." I offer.

She puts some more syrup on it and cuts a piece and puts it in her mouth. She chews and swallows it with enjoyment. Her tongue then comes out to lick the syrup off her lips.

"Mmm." She half moans after she's done. I'm transfixed by her actions. I never knew eating French toast could be so sexy. She then takes another piece on her fork and silently offers it to me.

I open my mouth and take it. She then smiles, knowingly, and finishes the last French toast. I do the same, swallowing with a little difficulty now. When she sees my plate is empty, she stands up, hovers over me and kisses me without any preamble.

I taste the sweet of the syrup on her lips and on her tongue. She licks my bottom lip and I take hers in between my teeth. Then just as suddenly, she stops the kiss, and I'm left panting like I've just run a marathon.

"Satisfied?" She gifts me with a wicked little smile.

"Not even close." She rolls her eyes at my response.

"Come on, help me clear all this."

While she does the dishes and I stand next to her drying them, it dawns on me we might look like an old married couple. We're sharing a silence that is not awkward but instead is full of meaningful looks, grins and touches. We understand each other without talking, I can sense her moods, and she knows what I want. It's kind of weird to think we've only been together for a few months. I want to grow old with her.

* * *

"Norma?"

She doesn't answer and the reason is because she's asleep on the sofa. The TV is on, volume very low, and some movie is playing. I find it odd that she's here, since she prefers to nap on the bed, but she looks comfortable and deep in sleep. I decide not to wake her.

I move her legs very gently and sit down, placing her legs on my lap. I glance at her; she's still resting her head on the sofa cushion, her hands resting below her chest. There's also a little frown between her eyes. I wonder what she's dreaming about and hope is not a nightmare.

About 20 minutes pass before she stirs lightly. I've been watching a game, in mute, and enjoying listening to her deep breathing which somehow has made me relaxed too. She seemed to have a bad dream for a moment, but then settled into a peaceful slumber again.

"Hey." She says opening her eyes.

"Hey yourself." I rub her legs softly up and down and she seems to appreciate the caress, flexing her feet and stretching her legs even more, then settling them back on my lap.

She turns her head to look at the TV. "You're watching a game without sound?"

"I didn't want to wake you." She gives me a soft smile in return.

"You had a good nap?"

"I had a sad dream." She mentions and she turns her head towards the TV again.

"Want to tell me about it?"

"It was about Norman." She quickly catches a tear that threatens to fall down the side of her face.

I keep massaging her legs, making her feel comfortable in sharing whatever she needs to share.

"I saw him as a little boy. He was running to me, screaming 'mommy!', and I picked him up and twirled around with him in my arms. I pressed him to my chest and smelled his head full of hair." She pauses a minute.

"You know… When he was born… That was the happiest moment of my life." She then looks at me.

"I mean… as a mother. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say I'm not happy with you. It's just, I miss him so much."

"Norma, I understand." I quickly reassure her. "You're a mother. He's your son. I wouldn't ever think our relationship would take precedent over yours with your son. Your sons."

"Why are you so good to me?" She asks.

"Because you deserve it. And because I love you." She sits up and curls up next to me.

"I love you too." She sighs into my neck.

I kiss the top of her head.

We stay like this for long minutes. I'm content with hugging her to me, as she's resting her head on my shoulder, playing with the buttons on my shirt.

"Alex?"

"Hmm?"

"Either turn the volume up or turn it off."

"It's driving you crazy, isn't it?" I chuckle.

She sits up and moves to put on her shoes. "Do whatever you want." She smirks at me. "But I'm going to the kitchen."

I grab her hand before she starts walking and she looks back.

"Let's go out." I invite.

"Again? We went out last weekend. To the fair."

"Oh, Mrs. Romero, I didn't know you were _that_ boring."

She opens her mouth in mock shock. "I told you… I'm keeping my name." And then we both laugh.

"No, really. Let's go out to dinner." I insist.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay." And she starts walking upstairs.

I watch the game for 15 minutes more, now with the volume up, before going upstairs to get ready myself.

When I go back into the bedroom she's almost ready. I'm drying my hair with a towel and quickly start getting dressed.

"Alex? Can you zip me up?" She's standing in front of her mirror, holding the two pieces of black fabric of her dress together with her hands at her back. I pull the zipper up and use the opportunity to encircle her in my arms, pull her to me, and press a kiss on her neck. Her head falls back a little but she moves away fast.

"Come on, finish getting dressed. You promised to take me to dinner and I'm starving! So no more fooling around."

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

Dinner was tasty. Drinks were too. And we had a good amount of those. By the time we arrive at the house we're in no better condition than the day we got married and got tipsy on my buddy's dime. This time, we're both definitely drunk.

We are tripping on the carpet, on the stairs, on the floor. There's no safe surface for us. Norma is in a fit of giggles. I'm just trying to make sure she makes it upstairs without injury. We finally do, and much like last time we tumble clumsily, this time both of us, into bed.

She keeps laughing and I do the same. We are laying side by side, my hand on her waist, her hand playing with my tie.

"Are you going to be a gentleman like last time and refuse my invitation?" She purrs sexily arching her eyebrow.

"It depends what you're inviting me for." I tease.

She responds by kissing me, putting her hands around my neck, and pressing her body to mine, hiking one leg over my hip.

This time I don't refuse her offering.

* * *

I have two very important things to do this week during work. Seeing Norma sad because of Norman put one of those ideas into action. I haven't thought of it before but hope I can find it soon enough. The other, well the other is something I know she'll like, and only need to get all the information and then make sure she doesn't find out about it until next Saturday. I want it to be a surprise and since the goal of both things is to make her happy, both are indispensable to achieve.

Being the sheriff has its advantages and in two days I've acquired the information I need. I even corroborate by calling first but I don't leave any clues behind. I just wanted to make sure. Don't want to get her hopes up if there is a slight chance of it not being correct. But now I'm certain and I can't wait to give her the news.

She's in what was Dylan's, and for a couple days, my room.

"Hey. What are you doing?" I approach her and kiss her hello.

"Oh, hi. Nothing important. Just emptying this closet, thinking what other use I can give it now that Dylan's not here."

"Uh, speaking of Dylan, I got you something." I produce the piece of paper and give it to her.

"What is this?" She asks even as she's looking at what's written on it.

"It's Dylan's new phone number." I see her surprised face. "After you left, I tried calling him, but he had disconnected his phone. You told me you two had a fight. I think you should call him. Let him know everything that's happened, with Norman, with you. I think you need your son and he needs you."

"What if he doesn't want to talk to me?"

"There's only one way to find out."

She went to our bedroom to make the call. I left her alone and hoped for the best. I'm busying myself with setting the table. She's been up there for half an hour and I'm starting to wonder if I should go check on her.

I decide to do just that when she appears in the kitchen, eyes red and face streaked with tears. She throws herself at me in a fierce hug. I can feel she's crying but not in a desperate or hurting way. I try to calm her down, rub my hands down her back.

"Norma? What happened?"

She looks back at me and that's when I see her smiling, smiling through tears, but smiling nonetheless.

"Thank you!" She exclaims and starts pressing tiny kisses on my face.

"Did you talk to him?"

"Yes." She can't say anything more but she looks happy.

"Here, sit down." I guide her to one of the chairs. Bring her a glass of water, she takes a sip. "So, are you two okay now?"

She laughs incredulously. "I think so. I mean, he was very surprised. I explained you found his number. I told him I was sorry. That I understood he was mad at me but that I wanted to see him. I told him about Norman… that he's back in Pineview. I didn't tell him everything about… what happened. It's too much for one call." She looks at me nervously but I nod in agreement. She relaxes a little and drinks a little bit more water.

"He agreed to come over for Christmas." She finishes with a big exhale and a laugh and starts crying again all at once.

"Shh, don't cry." I pull her up in another embrace. "He's coming over. You'll see him. You'll talk more and I'm sure he'll understand. And he'll be glad you've reached out to him."

"Thank you… thank you… thank you!" She keeps peppering my face with kisses between each word.

"Are you happy?"

"Yes!"

Mission accomplished.

* * *

"Alex, why don't you tell me where we're going? It'll be easier for me to choose what to wear." She whines as she places two not so very different dresses in front of her, and looks at herself in the mirror with an undecided expression.

"I told you is a surprise." I look at my watch. "And you better hurry up or we're going to miss it."

"This is all your fault." She wrinkles her nose into an adorable displeased frown.

"How is anything my fault? I told you this morning we were going out." I get up from the chair and stand behind her. Put my hands on her waist and start kissing her shoulder. "I think…" Kiss. "You should wear…" Kiss. "this." I grab her left hand that's currently holding a navy blue dress. The black dress already forgotten on her other hand.

She doesn't look too convinced.

"Or you can always go like this. You look very good in those boots and underwear." I point my chin towards the scraps of black lace she's wearing and our eyes meet in the mirror. I start to touch the edge of her bra with one hand, while pressing my other on her lower belly. She sways in my arms.

"Stop. You just said we were gonna be late. And whatever is it, I want to get there. I'll wear this one." She finally decides on the navy blue, puts it on and we leave.

As soon as we arrive I can tell Norma likes what she sees. The crowd is mostly our age or older, although there are some younger people too. The big tent is in the middle of the park, so we have to walk a little to reach it. I give the nice girl who's working at the entrance our tickets.

"Enjoy the movie!" She joyfully exclaims and Norma looks at me questioningly.

"Movie?" Norma asks just as we enter the tent and she sees the gigantic movie screen inside. There are rows of white lounge chairs with some kind of throw on them in a very colorful print. I guide her to a pair of chairs, in which I think is the best possible view, and offer to take her coat.

Even though is winter, the tent has heaters inside, so the temperature inside is not cold. The tent is decorated with big lamps placed strategically in the corners on top of some tables, and vases and fabrics in vibrant and dramatic colors. It feels like we're in another place, which I guess is the intent. We sit back on the chairs, which allow us to recline on them a little, our feet propped up. Norma looks at me apprehensively. Then she looks around and when she sees that everybody is sitting in the exact same position we are, she relaxes back into the chair.

The lights inside are turned off. We look up. The tent has a clear ceiling made of plastic, and you can see through it, all the way up to the stars on the clear sky tonight. Norma is looking up with the awe of a small child, and I take her hand and bring it to my lips.

The very first credits of the movie begin, in black and white, and I've only read Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman when I hear Norma gasp.

"Casablanca!" She exclaims in a very polite tone and turns to face me. "It's one of my favorites." I smile at her enthusiasm at seeing a movie she has clearly, as I imagined, seen before.

Almost two hours later and Norma is softly sniffing next to me. Bogey just said goodbye to Ilsa as she went away with her husband. I think I saw this movie when I was much younger, and thought it was a completely boring one, now I see I was mistaken. I can understand now why is called one of the greatest movies ever made and can appreciate Norma's love for it.

"Did you like it? I mean, I know you've seen it…"

"It was perfect! The tent, the Moroccan decorations, the movie. Everything was perfect." She gushes.

The twinkly lights inside the tent are on again. I help Norma to her feet and we say hello to a few people who greet us as they pass by. Back outside, the temperature is considerably lower, and I buy us a hot toddy from the stand to warm ourselves.

"Here's looking at you, kid." I quote the movie and raise my glass at her. The look on her eyes and her bright smile tells me I did something good. I also want to tell her that this is not only a movie date, but I don't want to sound too sentimental. I wanted to do something special for her today but I'm happy as long as she is. Maybe she doesn't even remember.

"Do you want anything else?" I ask her as we walk back to the car.

"Yes." She stops walking, faces me, and kisses me. I'm a little shocked at her brazen behavior, since she usually is very reserved when we're out and is not very fond of public displays of affection. But now her lips are moving against mine softly, invitingly; and her arms are thrown around my neck. I try to keep this appropriate for the general public as I'm vaguely aware there are people still walking around us, and keep my hands on her waist, not an inch lower. Then I feel her lips following a path from my jaw to my ear and hear her whisper.

"Take me home."

By the time we're opening the door to the house the anticipation is overwhelming. I see her walking a few steps in front of me up the stairs and I grab her by her hips and press her body flush to mine; her back against my front. She leans back, her hand going around my neck to pull me down for a kiss. My hand goes up her thigh, pulling her dress up in the process, until I bury my hand between her legs, cupping her heat through her panties.

"Ahhh." She hisses into the kiss. Then she puts her own hand over mine, pressing my hand further, harder, into her.

"Jesus!" I growl and remove my hand from her heavenly heat just so we could move this into the bedroom. Once there, I quickly unzip her dress and it falls like water at her feet. She steps outs of it and bends to take off her boots, kissing my chest as I hurriedly open the buttons of my shirt and shed it off.

I start to walk her back to the bed when I hear her say something. It takes a few seconds for her words to register on my brain.

"Wait, Alex, wait." She's pushing me away with her hands against my chest. I stop my advance on her immediately.

"What? What happened?" I manage to find the words in my sex occupied brain. I look at her, instantly worried at her reaction.

"I just… want to give you something first." She explains and opens the first drawer in the drawer and takes out a small black velvety bag. "I got it a few days ago, and thought about giving it to you for Christmas, but then I thought it was not a Christmas gift. So anyway, I think today is perfect. It's not much, but I want you to know I bought it with my own money, the money I earned while working in Florida, so you know, I paid for it."

She then takes a gold band out of the tiny bag, takes my left hand in hers, and puts the ring on my finger.

"Happy two months wedding anniversary." She says earnestly and I just look at her in complete awe. She did remember. Of course she would.

I can't speak so I just kiss her, my hands cradling her face. I kiss her for long minutes and then look back into her blue eyes.

"Thank you." I murmur as I caress her cheek and she turns her head to kiss the palm of my hand.

"You're welcome. Now you're officially a married man."

"It was official since day one." I cover her mouth with mine and slowly lay her on the bed.

The sweet interlude did not serve as a distraction. We're already panting into our kisses, sighs escaping her mouth, our earlier passion renewed with fervor. Her scraps of lace are gone, and so is my underwear. I move my hand down her hip to her outer thigh, then caress a path up the inside of her thigh and urge her thighs apart.

She moans when I reach her center. I kiss her cheek and her lips softly. Slip my tongue in her mouth at the same time I slide a finger inside her and she arches her back, her hips elevate from the bed, and her hands grip my shoulders tightly. I tease her for a while like this, moving my finger slowly in and out, until she's panting and a string of words and sounds are coming from her mouth.

"Alex, please, oh god, hmmm, ahhh…"

I rub my thumb over her clit until she explodes in a series of moans and jerks. She writhes under the weight of my body in the most potent way. I wait for her to recover, and after a few minutes she does, and plunges her tongue into my mouth and moves us until she's on top of me. My hands grab her hips and I feel her hand reaching down, holding me firmly and stroking me a few times, before guiding me in. She lowers herself slowly and I'm already straining and panting with the effort of not thrusting forcefully up into her, as she braces herself on my shoulders. Instead I let her set the pace. She starts slow, moving back and forth, but soon her breaths are shorter, her movements faster and I can tell she is as close as I am.

"I love you." I pant against her ear when she buries her face against the side of my neck after she can no longer hold herself up. I feel her whole body tensing. Her breasts are pressed to my chest, the little hard nipples rubbing against my skin. I'm meeting her thrust for thrust. Then I hear the sound coming from somewhere low in her throat, she's coming again, a little less powerful than her first orgasm, but still strong enough to make me speed up my movements, hold on to her hips forcefully and slam into her desperately until my own orgasm gives me the release I need.

We've been lying side by side, looking at each other and holding hands, basking in the afterglow, for minutes now. I interlace our fingers and my eyes catch the ring on my finger.

"Do you like it?" She asks innocently.

"Of course. I love it."

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" I add.

"Mmm, yes. Very much." She says suggestively and rubs her leg seductively between mine.

"I meant the movie."

"Oh! That." She laughs. "I'm kidding. I loved it. Did you remember what day it was today?"

"I did. I wanted to give you something special. And then saw the ad for the outside cinema and knew you'd like it. I wanted it to be a surprise so I couldn't say anything about it being a gift."

"It was pretty special. The whole night. Thank you."

We share one last sweet kiss before I hear her fall asleep, her breathing deep and slow, and I stay awake for some time enjoying the feel of her in my arms. I'm honestly a little amazed that we've made it this far. I remember when I told her at the Lights festival that everything was gonna be okay. Since that day we've fought, been apart, rode a hurricane together, came back to White Pine Bay, and put her son back in a mental institution. I saw her go through, probably, the worst moment of her life. We've gotten closer too. The fog has lifted, the sky is clearer and I wouldn't change a thing. I press a kiss to her forehead and go to sleep too.

A creaking and hinging sound wakes me up. My light sleep is disturbed by anything and I'm already on alert. Then I hear it again and I quickly jump out of bed, jostling Norma in the process.

"What is it?" She mumbles sleepily.

"Shh. I heard sounds downstairs." I whisper as I put on my pants and take my gun.

"Alex! What are you doing? Where are you going?"

"Norma, stay here. Whatever you hear, stay here."

I go down the stairs slowly, wincing as the wood creaks a little, gun drawn in front of me. The front door is open just a little and I get tense, hold the weapon up more firmly. I hear Norma behind me; I look back and see her at the top of the stairs, wearing a robe and a scared expression.

"Go back!" I try to whisper in an authoritative tone. I reach the end of the stairs, and I see a shadow in the hallway. I get ready, aim and fire.

The gunshot breaks the dead silence. Norma screams and I hear her running down the stairs just as I see the body I shot at moving slowly, still in the dark, bending at the waist. Whoever it is doesn't fall quickly to the ground. I merely shot to wound, not to kill.

Norma appears next to me just as I turn on the lights.

A big gasps escapes her throat and she covers her mouth with her hands when she sees who it is.

"What the f… " I blurt out.

Norma looks at me terrified and confused at the same time, just as the receiver of the bullet grunts from its seated position on the floor.

"You gotta be kidding me!" I snap in annoyance and disbelief.

* * *

TBC…

 **PS. Ten chocolate candy bars to whoever guesses who the intruder is! ;)**


	11. Rebuilding

**A/N: I want to give a very special thanks to the guest who posted a very lovely review on the previous chapter. I can't privately respond to you, but your words touched me, especially the part where you said "Thank you for giving Normero more life." It brought tears to my eyes. And to everyone else who keeps reading, and posting reviews, I can't thank you enough!**

* * *

"You gotta be kidding me!" I look at Norma, and back at him, and chuckle in a mix of irritation and incredulity at the whole situation.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She walks over to him and helps him to his feet; looking nervously back at me.

"What are you doing?" I tell her as they walk past me on their way to the living room.

"I'm going to sit him on the couch. What are _you_ doing? Are you going to call 9-1-1?" She answers back.

I shake my head and go upstairs to put on a shirt. Coming back into the living room, where Norma is already helping him remove his jacket, I toss the emergency kit on the table.

"I don't think he needs an ambulance." I give as an explanation. She rolls her eyes at me but takes the kit, opens it and starts rubbing alcohol on the wound on his shoulder. He hisses.

I stand there, gun secure at my waist and hands on my hips, looking at them. He hasn't said a word, his head is down, and his right hand is holding onto his left injured one.

"Are you going to explain yourself?" I bark at him and then he finally looks up at me.

"What, man? You're the one who shot me."

"Have you heard of trespassing on private property? Of breaking and entering? Because that's what you just did. And, I don't know, seems to me you're not even sorry about that." I scold him.

"There." Norma interrupts. "I think Alex is right. The bullet just grazed you. I patched you up. If you want you can go to the hospital tomorrow and check if they want to put on stitches. But for now, you're okay."

"Thank you, Norma Louise." He goes to grab her hands and she stands up quickly, getting out of his reach.

"It's okay, Caleb. It's nothing. But I still don't know why you're here. Why you came into my house in the middle of the night? What were you thinking? You're lucky Alex is a good shot or you'd be dead!" She raises her voice at him.

"I'm sorry, Norma Louise. I didn't think… I just wanted to see you, and Dylan… and I…" He starts crying.

Norma sighs and walks away. I follow her and catch her by the stairs. "Where are you going?" I ask her.

"I'm going to get some blankets and a pillow. I think he needs to rest."

"What, in here?!" I say too loudly and she makes a shushing sound at me.

"Yes, in here. He's obviously drunk, and injured. What are we supposed to do with him?"

"I don't know. Send him packing."

"Alex, it's 3am." She sighs. "God knows how he got here, there isn't a car outside. Either we send him out to the street while he's injured and drunk or we let him sleep it off on the couch. Or you go down to the motel and settle him in. I'm not going down there at this hour, so you choose." She pauses to wait for my answer. I say nothing. "That's what I thought. Look, we'll deal with this tomorrow. Let's just go to bed."

I wait for her to come back downstairs and watch as she turns the sofa into a makeshift bed. Her brother stands by the side looking at her.

"There. Try not to move around too much. I don't want blood all over my sofa." She warns and he nods like a small child. "Goodnight, Caleb." She says without emotion.

"Goodnight, Norma Louise." I hear him but before he has time to sit or lay down I walk over to him and look him in the eye.

"Listen to me, under no circumstances you're to go upstairs. Not even to the bathroom. If you need to go, you go outside around the bushes. If I see you upstairs, I'll shoot you again." I threaten him.

"Okay, man, okay. Geez…" He says sitting down. I'm by the doorframe when I hear him mutter "Who does he think he is?" and when I look back to answer him he's already asleep.

Norma looks at me, raising her eyebrows. "Was that necessary?" She whispers.

"Yes." It's my only answer as I turn off the lights and guide her upstairs.

"What the hell is he doing here, Norma?" I snap as soon as I close the door to our bedroom.

"How would I know?" She objects as she takes off her robe and I see even in the rush she had put on some sleeping clothes under her robe. "I don't know, Alex. You heard him, he wanted to see Dylan." She gets in bed.

I'm still putting my gun on the end table, slowly taking my clothes off. "I'll have to file a report tomorrow."

"Why?" She exclaims quickly.

"Because I fired my service weapon, Norma. I have to do it."

"But you won't arrest him or anything, right?"

"That's your concern?" I look back at her as I sit on the bed. "That I won't arrest him? He broke at least four laws just by being here."

"I know, I know. What I meant is, maybe you can say you shot him because it was dark and you didn't know who he was. That is the truth! I just… I don't want the whole town talking about how my brother got shot by my husband in my own house."

"I'm going to sleep now. As you said, we'll deal with this tomorrow." I fall back on the bed and close my eyes.

"Are you mad? I mean, at me?" I hear her murmur softly from her side of the bed.

"Why would I be mad at you, Norma? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh. Okay. Goodnight, then." I feel the bed move as she turns and clicks the lamp off. She then stays on her side of the bed and I feel the tension coming from her body. I look at her and she's laying on her side, her back to me.

"Come here." I move closer to her and wrap my arms around her, molding our bodies together. She relaxes instantly, and kisses my hand, then hugs it close to her chest.

"I love you, Alex."

"I love you too, Norma."

Morning comes and I'm the first one awake. I get dressed and go downstairs to check on Caleb. He's still passed out. I go back upstairs, sit on the bed and wait for Norma to wake up.

"Hey." I say as soon as she stirs and opens her eyes moments later.

"Hi. You're already dressed?" She mentions confused and then I see realization hit her face. "Oh. It was not a dream, right? Caleb really is downstairs."

"No, not a dream. I went to check on him earlier and he was still asleep."

"I'll get dressed." She groans as she gets out of bed.

In a few minutes she has come back from the bathroom, has applied her makeup and has put on a dark blue skirt and purple shirt. We go downstairs together.

He's not in the living room and we look at each other questioningly. We go into the kitchen. Not a sight of him. Just as soon as I think maybe we did have a shared nightmare we hear the kitchen door and turn around to see him.

"Uh…hi. I was just out… relieving myself." He says as a way of greeting. I'm glad he remembered my threat from last night.

"I'm going to make coffee." Norma quickly mentions and busies herself with the task.

He goes to sit down and looks at me. "Hey, man. I know you're the sheriff and everything, but why did you shot me?"

"Because you trespassed on private property. Add breaking and entering to that too." I tell him.

"Yeah, I heard you last night. Look I'm sorry." He looks at me then at his sister. "Norma Louise, I'm sorry. I thought you'd be alone… I did not expect to find him here last night." He gestures towards me.

"Is that the reason why you invited yourself over? Because you thought she was alone?"

"Alex…" She holds a hand up to me in an attempt to calm me down.

"I just thought I could crash in without waking you, and then talk to you and Dylan today." He explains.

"Well, it was a dumb plan." Norma replies as she puts a big cup of coffee on the table in front of him. "And Dylan is not here. He's in Portland."

"Oh."

He takes a long sip of coffee. "I want to talk to you. In private."

"I'm not leaving her alone with you." I snap at him.

"Ah, man. I know you spent the night, but I want to talk to my sister alone. I think you can leave now."

"Caleb!" Norma yells. "Don't."

He looks at her, then at me, as if trying to figure something out.

"I'm her husband." I simply state. I see his eyes land on Norma's ring finger and then at my own, where I'm keeping my hands folded in front of my chest, then back to her face.

"Ah, you got married. Well, congratulations Norma Louise. I'm happy for you."

"Caleb, just say what you came all the way here to say." She sounds a little exasperated. "We can talk in the living room if that's what you want."

I'm about to protest when she turns to me and says, "You can stay here in the kitchen. I won't be far." She gives me a reassuring smile. I nod at her in agreement. She serves another cup of coffee and hands it to me. Her hands close over mine in a thankful gesture. I keep my eyes on her as she leaves the kitchen, and then on his back as he follows her.

After some time has passed I hear the tone of their voices rising and I get up, no longer appeased with just waiting. I walk towards the living room and stay in the hallway, out of view but able to hear.

"I'll ask him… and you have to deal with Chick. He already came looking for you." I hear Norma say to him.

"Did he do anything to you? Or to Dylan?"

"You should've thought of that before leaving." I can hear the snicker in her voice and then she pauses. "No. I mean, not physically. But he was… persistent. It was not easy but I managed it. He left me alone, he probably won't go after Dylan, but you have to take responsibility for what you did to him."

I feel bad for eavesdropping and move back to the kitchen. After a few minutes I hear her again and get closer to the living room.

"No! Caleb, no. You can't stay here! You want to be in Dylan's life, fine, I won't oppose that, but don't ask to be in mine. I can't. It hurts too much. I'm sorry." She argues.

"But Norma Louise… I said I'm sorry and I love you…"

"You heard her. She said no." I move to stand next to her chair, where she's seating opposite him on the sofa. "You may have ignored her saying it before, when she was a young girl. But she said no. She meant it then, she means it now."

He looks confused for a second and I don't think he can put two and two together before Norma speaks.

"Alex knows everything. About what happened between you and me. He knows you're Dylan's father." She speaks softly, but steadily. Fear crosses his face, then embarrassment.

"I told you I forgive you, in a way, but you have to leave." She stands up and I wrap my arm around her waist, more as a protective than a possessive gesture.

He stands up, grabs his jacket that is lying on the sofa and puts it on with some difficulty due to his injured arm. He's a big man, I'm sure he'll be okay in a day or two. The bullet did just graze him. I wish I could've inflicted more pain on him, if only I knew who he was before shooting… but no. I wouldn't have done that to Norma. He's a loser and a scumbag in my book, but he is still her brother. I don't think she would appreciate me hurting him that way.

"Uh, I guess I'm leaving. I just wanted to say that… uh… I did love you Norma Louise, I still do. And what I did was because I loved you…"

I interrupt him by grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. I take him by surprise and even though he's bigger and taller than me the adrenaline rushing through my body makes me think I can take him. I'm sure I can.

"You have a very distorted definition of what love is. The past is the past, but I'll tell you this: if you ever put your hands on her again, if you so much as touch one hair on her head I will fucking kill you." I say through gritted teeth.

"Alex..." I'm barely aware Norma is talking to me.

"You either leave her alone or I will arrest you and make sure you spend the rest of your life behind bars." I keep threatening him. "And if you see her walking on the sidewalk, you better cross to the other side; I don't want you near her… ever again. You understand me?"

"Yeah, man, yeah. I get it."

"Good." I release him but the anger and the frustration are too much. Her tears from the night she confessed everything to me come back to haunt me and I can't stop myself. Before I can think of anything else I punch him square in the face. Hard. The man stumbles back.

"Alex!" She comes closer to me, holds me, and gets in between me and him.

He grunts and looks at me. There's a hint of hate on his face. This is unbelievable. I carefully push Norma away just in time to get ready for his swing. He hits me back and I'm thankful he did. I lounge at him and we fight. All I'm aware is my punches landing on his face, and then suddenly, through a fog in my brain I hear her voice.

"Stop! Alex, please, stop!"

I look back at her and see her crying. I release him. We're both hurt by now, he hit me a couple times too, but I hit him more. "Get the hell out of my house." I hiss. He stumbles outside.

I turn around ready to offer an apology; ask her to forgive me for bringing violence to her house, for hitting her brother, for making her cry… but she just swipes her hand over her cheek trying to dry her tears and takes a couple steps until she's directly in front of me. "I'm sorry Norma…" I begin.

She throws herself in my arms, hugging me fiercely, her hands around my neck in a tight embrace. I hug her back, my hands coming to rest tentatively on her back.

"Alex… you're the only man who has ever defended me." She cries into my neck for a little while and then stops. "But please, don't do that again. It's too scary to see you fight." I hold her tighter.

"I'm sorry, Norma."

She leans back to look at me. "Don't be. Come with me, I have to put ice on that face." And she leads me by the hand towards the kitchen.

We sit facing each other, she already has my hand wrapped in ice, then presses the ice bag gingerly on my face and I flinch. She tries again and this time I hold still. We are so close I can see the makeup on her eyelashes, how her eyes shine brightly from her recent tears, and I can feel her breath on my face. It reminds me of another time I was hurt and she took care of me on this very spot.

"How you feel?" She asks.

"Fine." I answer her and she raises an eyebrow at me like she doesn't believe me. "Okay, it hurts a little. But I'll be fine."

She stands up and comes back with a glass of water and offers it to me along with a pill she takes out of the bottle.

"Norma, I don't need painkillers."

"You just said it hurts."

"I said it hurts a little."

"It's an anti-inflammatory, for your hand. You don't want to miss work tomorrow because you can't move your hand, do you?"

She of course is right so I take the damn pill from her hand and swallow it. She then steps in between my legs; I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my head in the valley of her breasts. I feel her press a kiss on my hair. I look up to her and she bends down, presses the softest but warmest kiss on my lips.

I stand up and hug her fully. We sway like that for a few minutes. "Hmm. I'm going into the station for a moment, to fill in that report, okay? I'll be back in less than an hour. Lock the doors behind me."

"Okay."

"See you later."

* * *

Three days have passed with no more incidents from Caleb. I know he's still in town. I have officers checking in on him and giving me full reports. But so far, he has kept his word of not going close to the house, or anywhere near Norma.

"Hi again, Alex." I can hear her smiling as she answers my call.

"How's everything?"

"Everything's as fine as it was, let me see… two hours ago. You don't have to keep calling every two hours."

"I know, but I want to. I'll see you at home later."

"Bye."

* * *

"Good morning." I say as I enter the kitchen where she's already drinking coffee and reading the paper.

"Good morning." She answers absent mindedly and I worry a little.

"Hey." I get her attention by standing next to her and touching her hair. She looks at me. "Are you okay?"

"Yes… I'm just… I'm reading the paper. Looking for news…"

"About your brother?"

She looks at me sadly. "I'm sorry. I know he's not your favorite person, but I'm scared Chick might actually do something to him. And Dylan finding out and being upset."

"Do you want me to talk to Chick?"

"What? No! I don't want you anywhere near them! No. They're both crazy; my brother and Chick. I don't want him back into my life either." She quickly responds. "Do you want some breakfast?" She changes the conversation abruptly.

"No, thanks. I'm actually running a little late. See you tonight." I kiss her goodbye.

Two hours later, and this time is Norma calling me on the phone. She got a call from the hospital, her brother had been brought in, and she was contacted on his behalf.

"Look, Alex, I know you don't want me near him, and frankly I don't want to either. But, he's my brother and I need to see what happened to him." She has said frantically over the phone.

"It's okay, Norma. Go. Go see him. I'll meet you at the hospital." She said it was not necessary for me to go but I insisted. She knew better than to keep me from going so she stopped trying.

By the time I'm given the information on his whereabouts in the hospital, I find Norma already there and I could her hear talking to him without entering his room.

"None of this would've happened if you haven't tried to take him for a fool. He said you stole his money and drove his wife away. What did you expect?" She sighs in frustration. "I don't know why men have the need to resolve everything with fighting." I hear her say from my position outside the door.

"And Caleb…" She lowers her voice down to merely a whisper. I'm the only one around close enough to hear her. "You have to stop telling people you are Dylan's dad. You are my brother, so you are his uncle. That's it. I know for you it's new but I've gone more than 20 years keeping this a secret. I've had lied to everybody, including Dylan, but you can't keep telling everyone who would listen that… is not something to be proud of. It has brought me a great deal of pain and shame. You told Chick and look what happened. I won't put in jeopardy my marriage and my happiness with Alex, or my relationship with Dylan because of you." I hear her sniffing.

"I'm sorry, Norma Louise."

"I talked to Dylan. He said it's okay for me to give you his new phone number. He _is_ your son. I won't get in the way of you two having a relationship, it's his decision, but leave me out of it. Please don't cause me any more trouble. I'm trying to do something here; I'm trying to rebuild my life with a man who loves me and who I love, and to salvage my relationship with my son. I love him, but was never able to fully show him… he was always the painful reminder of something horrible. But he has forgiven me, and has forgiven you. But I need you to not destroy him, or us. We came too close to it with this business with Chick." She's still crying softly.

"I won't. I promise, Norma Louise. And thank you for forgiving me and for giving me this chance with Dylan."

"Goodbye, Caleb."

"Goodbye, Norma Louise."

When she gets out of the room and sees me there, waiting for her, her face crumbles. I hold her to me; listen to her soft cries, barely audible. It's a calm cry. One that feels like closure. I wait until she has completely calmed down and then drive her back home.

Just as we're entering the house her cell phone rings.

"Hello? Yes, this is she. What? What happened? Is he alright?" I see her face contorts into a worried expression.

"Norma, what is it?" I ask but she signals for me to wait.

Then sadness clouds her features, she presses end on the phone and it falls from her hand, she sways like she's about to faint and I catch her before she falls. I carry her to the bedroom.

* * *

Norma has been in bed for four days. The news of Norman not getting out of Pineview for the foreseeable future, by the doctor's recommendation, hit her hard. After the phone call she insisted I take her to the institution the next day and I did. Dr. Edwards explained everything in detail. His condition has not improved. And after therapy and medication, Norman was able to remember what he did to Norma, and he had a breakdown because of it.

The nice doctor told us, in no uncertain terms, that if Norman weren't sick he would be put in jail. He mentioned this like it was a revelation to us, but it wasn't. Norma explained she hadn't press charges and went hysterical right there in Dr. Edwards office. He said because Norman had remembered and he had the medics report from that night, it was his duty to keep him inside, so he couldn't hurt himself or others. We had two choices: sign the papers to have him committed indefinitely or Dr. Edwards could ask the court to do it, and Norma could lose her rights over him.

In the end, two days later she had signed the papers. I had arrived after work; found her sitting on the bed, doubled over like she was in terrible pain, crying, and the documents next to her.

"Alex, I can't lose him. He's sick. I couldn't fix him." She sobbed and it broke my heart. "Here. I already signed… can you please be the other signature? It would take Dylan too long to get here, and I don't want to lose my nerve… I need to do it now. Can you? Would you sign?" She asked in the softest voice. I did sign the papers.

"You're doing the right thing, Norma."

"I know. I now know."

She wept, placed her head between her hands and wept, until she has tired herself and had fallen asleep. I took the signed forms to Pineview the next day.

Now I'm worried about her. In four days she has barely eaten. She stays in bed all day; I go to work and when I come back find her exactly where I left her. Today I bring her soup. I really hope she eats something or I'll have to take her to the hospital. I open the front door and head upstairs.

I am surprised to find her awake and alert. I kiss her forehead and sit down next to her on the bed. "How are you feeling? I brought you chicken soup. It's from the restaurant you like." She smiles and tries to sit up straight.

"I'm actually hungry." She answers surprising me for the second time. "But I need to go to the bathroom first." She smiles at me and I move out of the way so she can get out of bed. As soon as her feet touch the floor she gets dizzy, and I have to grab her arms to steady her.

"Woah. Easy there. Have you been drinking while I'm at work?" I joke. I feel ridiculous for telling her a stupid joke but she smiles again. Ok, this is good. "Are you okay walking by yourself?"

"Yes. I'm just a little weak." She actually sounds weak. I keep walking next to her, praying she doesn't notices, until she reaches the bathroom. I wait for her outside the door.

"You have to eat now. It's been four days, Norma. I'm worried about you." I say as soon as she comes out.

"Okay."

After eating she's looking a little reanimated and I keep talking just to keep her engaged. I like how her eyes are following my conversation. I talk about work, about traffic, about anything.

"I think we should go buy a Christmas tree." I suggest as an afterthought.

"Yes, I think we should. Dylan and Emma are coming next week. We need to get the house ready."

We smile at each other. I'm relieved. She's slowly coming back to me.

* * *

The weekend has been a blur of shopping, making plans, and thankfully, laughter. Norma has bought gifts for Dylan, Emma, Norman and I'm pretty sure, for myself, but she hid everything and won't let me see what she got me. I've done the same. My gifts for her are either hidden around the house or in my office, waiting to be brought home. We've gone to every single store in town, or so it feels. I've never walked around so much and carried so many shopping bags in my lifetime.

The best part is seeing her slowly rebuilding her life; our life together. I see a renewed sense of self in her, that childlike spark of wanting to make things, to redecorate the house like she talked about that time. All the wonder and the excitement are back and she can't seem to find enough things to want to do. Nothing is too big or daunting a task for her. She really wants to decorate the house for Christmas, judging from all the sorts of things she has been buying. I oblige her all too easy. I don't deny her anything. Truth be told, I'm enjoying all this as much as she is.

"Norma, at some point we have to actually start putting up the decorations. I'll take the day off tomorrow to help you. Christmas is next Friday and the tree is waiting in the living room…" I enter the bedroom and find her looking at our pictures from the fair, the ones taken at the photo booth.

"We had fun that night, didn't we?" She smiles lovingly.

"Yes, we did." I see her still looking at the pictures and get an idea. I take a hidden gift from the drawer and give it to her.

"What is this?" She looks surprised but her smile can't hide her curiosity.

"A gift."

"I can see that, but it's not Christmas yet."

"Norma, just open it. Unless you want to give it back to me and wait until Friday." I make as if to take the neatly wrapped box from her but she holds it to her chest.

"No, okay, okay. I'll open it." She's already tearing the wrapping paper apart with the enthusiasm of a little girl.

"Oh my god, these are beautiful."

"You like them?" I ask nonchalantly.

"They're beautiful. A Tiffany's silver picture frames set? Yes! I like them, I love them!" She quickly starts putting each one of the four pictures in a respective small frame. Then she gets out of bed and I see her placing the one of us smiling on top of the dresser. My eyes follow her as she moves and places the frame with the picture in which we're kissing on the table by her side of the bed. She moves away and puts another one on the table by the window. She comes close again to where I'm seating on the bed and places the last frame on the table on my side of the bed. It's the one where she's resting her head on my chest; my favorite one.

"Thank you..." I hear her say before she kisses me. "…for making me so happy." She whispers against my lips.

"You're very welcome." I return her kiss.

* * *

TBC…


	12. Change of Season

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. The Election left me too depressed to write. Also I had written myself into a no way out street, because this was supposed to be the Christmas chapter and I'm kind of a Grinch. But… I read all your messages asking 'when is the next update!' and the harassing ;) (It made me feel special) helped me to keep writing. I wanted to update before Thanksgiving weekend aka Gilmore girls weekend so I had to get it done asap. This chapter came out longer than the Bible so I hope you enjoy it. And as always, thank you for each and every one of your lovely reviews! They fill my writer's heart with joy.**

* * *

"Do you want to put the topper on the tree?" I ask her fully knowing she wants to do it and wouldn't let me put the final touch on the Christmas tree. I'd rather watch her do it anyway.

"Yes!" She answers enthusiastically as she climbs the small ladder and I hold her hips securing her. I give her the big shining silver star; she reaches the top of the tree and places it on the top. She stays looking up at it and holding her hands clasped over her heart until I get her attention back.

"It looks nice." I say helping her down the ladder and hugging her, placing my hands on her lower back.

"It does." She agrees looking one more time at the beautifully decorated tree. "But I still have so much to do. Wrapping presents, cooking all the food…" I shush her up by kissing her.

"You still have a few days to do all that. I think we managed pretty well with the decorations though. I'm impressed." We both look around the living room to admire the fruits of our labor. One full day of me asking Norma where to put this or that, and she being incredibly patient with me, forever explaining the fine points of Christmas decoration.

Now I see everything looks actually quite nice. Our living room has been populated by nutcracker dolls on the table, little elves on every corner and stockings hanging by the fireplace. The tree is, by far, the biggest piece. It took us hours to decorate but I enjoyed every moment of it. Especially since it was hours spent watching Norma take out ornament after ornament out of the shopping bags and finding place for them on the tree. We laughed each time our hands met on the same spot, both of us going for the same small space to hang the many little Santa Claus, reindeers, candy canes, bows, bells, snowmen, snowflakes, and angels that Norma had bought for the tree.

"We did. Thank you for staying home today to help me." She mentions taking me out of my reverie. I look back at her and she places a kiss on my cheek and turns around in my arms, pressing her back to my chest.

"I love what you did with the lights." She murmurs softly. I hug her even closer to me, encircling my arms below her chest, while she puts her arms on top of mine. It was my idea: putting the strings of white lights up and around the living room, a task that took a few hours of hammering the small nails to the wood and then hanging the lights by them. During the day it didn't look like anything special was going to come out of it, but now that is dark, the lights look whimsical and festive.

"You do? Well, I'm glad. I never knew I liked little white lights so much until I saw you under that twirling umbrella at the Winter Festival." I mention pressing a kiss to her neck.

"I knew it! You're a softie! You liked the Winter Lights Festival!" She teases me and we both laugh.

"I did. I never had seen you look more beautiful. You took my breath away that night." I whisper against her ear.

She turns in my arms. She looks at me like she does whenever she wants to say something but can't find the words. Her eyes shine more brightly under the twinkling Christmas lights. I feel the gentle press of her lips against mine and I close my eyes. I breathe her in. When the kiss ends and I open my eyes I find her grinning at me.

I hear her speak but I am only vaguely aware of her words because she is moving away from me. I don't like the feeling of losing her body warmth but observe as she goes to the old turntable and puts on a record. Then, as music feels the air and I hear the voice of Frank Sinatra singing ' _Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light_ …' I see Norma standing again in front of me.

"Do you want to dance?" She asks, the corners of her mouth turned up. I accept her offer leading her around the narrow dancing space on the living room. We sway in soft motion under the lights. _'Through the years we all will be together if the fates allow, so hang a shining star upon the highest bough, and have yourself a merry little Christmas now.'_ The song ends. We kiss softly again but she breaks the kiss too quickly.

"Come on, I'll make us something to eat." She grabs my hand and pulls me towards the kitchen.

* * *

"Alex! Alex, wake up! It's Christmas!" I hear her before I see her. I slowly open my eyes to see a bright eyed and beaming Norma kneeling on the bed next to me. She's biting her lower lip trying to contain her excitement.

"Are you sure, Norma? Is still dark outside." I half tease her because it is in fact still dark, as I can see from the lack of light through the windows.

"Yes! It's 6 am but it is Christmas!" She jumps out of bed and puts on her robe. I sit, swinging my legs on the side of the bed, observing her eagerness and joy. "Come on!" She pulls me up into a standing position and makes me run down the stairs with her.

We are children, or at least we must look like it, judging by the amount of wrapping paper and opened gifts strewn all around us. We are, most importantly, enjoying each other's company and happiness.

"Do you like it? I made it for you." She wonders as I take the grey sweater out of the box.

"I didn't know you could also knit." I sound surprised because I am. She keeps unfolding like a flower.

"I have many hidden talents." She notes smugly and adorably.

"Hmm, yes, you do. I do like it; I love it, thank you." I reach for her and kiss her softly. "This one's for you too." I say reaching for the biggest box. "I didn't make it but I hope you like it."

"Oh my God! This is beautiful." She exclaims as soon as she opens the gift and finds the royal blue dress inside. "Alex. It's perfect." Her voice is barely a whisper. She's admiring the dress with such an enthralled expression I'm pretty sure I made the right choice. She puts it back carefully on the box and looks at me. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. But we are, apparently, very easy people to find gifts for." I look around at the array of gifts of different sizes and shapes.

"Hmm you either know me pretty well or I am incredibly predictable. You got me my favorite perfume, a pair of very beautiful sexy shoes…" She's smirking as she lists all her gifts. "The earrings, the dress."

"I told you I'm very observant."

"You did good. Did you like what I got you?"

"You mean the shirt, the silk tie, and the sweater made by your own hands? Yes. I also liked the bottle of my favorite whiskey and the cufflinks with my initials on them. Thank you."

"What about that one?" She's curiously eyeing the only unopened gift left.

"Ah, that one's for you too but you can't open it until tonight." I tell her and she raises her eyebrow not entirely convinced but agrees with a shrug and a simple 'Okay.'

"Now, can I have a cup of coffee?"

"Yes… You can have anything you want." She replies seductively while straddling me. I squeeze her ass and finally kiss her like I've been wanting to since she woke me up 30 minutes ago. I lay her down gently on the floor, my hips finding their way in between her legs, subtly spreading them. Then she gives me everything I want, right here under the lights of our Christmas tree.

* * *

"Norma, relax. He's your son and he lived here. I'm sure he and Emma will like everything as it is."

"Yes, I know, but I haven't seen him in almost two months! And the last time we saw each other we had a fight."

It's endearing to see her so nervous, and also so excited, about seeing Dylan. She's been cooking for a couple hours now and the smells are engulfing the entire house. I've put all our opened gifts away in the bedroom and placed Dylan's and Emma's gifts under the tree as Norma wanted.

"Alex, did you check the wreath outside the door is okay? I don't want it to look crooked."

"Yes, I checked. The one on the inside door is looking perfect too. Norma, you should go get ready. I can keep an eye on the food for a while." I suggest trying to take her mind off her anxieties for a minute.

"Yeah, okay. Everything's on the oven now so just turn it off completely when the timer goes off, ok?" She explains like it's the biggest and most complicated task.

"I think I can manage that."

"Well, you better or we'll be eating nothing!" She yells as she goes upstairs. I chuckle and sit back to watch some TV while she gets ready.

* * *

"Wow. You look beautiful." I admire her for long minutes. She's wearing the new dress and looking like Christmas herself.

"Uh uh. You can't touch. If I can't open that last gift, you can't open yours either."

"Oh, are you my last gift of the day?"

"Maybe." She leaves me alone in our bedroom so I start getting ready myself.

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" Dylan and Emma say in unison as I open the door for them.

"Yes, Merry Christmas to you too. Come on in! Uh, you can put the gifts by the tree." I tell them since both of them have their arms full with gifts and bags.

"Where's Norma?" Emma asks as soon as she finishes arranging the presents by the foot of the tree.

"Kitchen. She'll come out soon." As soon as I say it we hear her and we all turn around to see her already coming towards her son with her arms outstretched for a hug. He walks over to her.

"Dylan!"

"Hi, mom." They share a long and emotive hug. Emma and I look at each other and smile. Then we hear Norma sniffing softly, and we both look at her in concern.

"Norma, don't cry." Dylan tells her. "Please."

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just so happy to see you!" She then sees Emma and moves to hug her too.

"Emma! I'm so happy you're here!" The two women share another long and enthusiastic hug.

"Merry Christmas, Norma." Emma tells her and as soon as they separate she comes over to me and hugs me too. I'm surprised by her effusiveness and I awkwardly hug her back. "Merry Christmas, uh… sheriff Romero." She says ending the hug.

"Alex. You can call me Alex, Emma." I tell her and we all laugh.

"Oh wow! What a beautiful dress!" Emma exclaims when she sees Norma completely now they're not hugging.

"Thank you. It was a gift from Alex." She twirls around a little to show off the dress.

"I love the sweetheart neckline, the A line skirt, and the bow at the waist. It is so you, Norma!" I hear Emma mentioning all the things I don't understand about the dress. I just know it has no sleeves but it covers the top of her shoulders and the skirt ends just above her knees. The style accentuates her collarbones, her waist and the swell of her hips. When I saw it at the store it just looked like her. On her, though, is a million times better.

I've been too busy admiring my wife when I notice that both women, and even Dylan, are looking in my direction. The younger woman in the room is looking at me with too much admiration in her eyes. I can sense she also appreciates my choice of gift for Norma.

"Uh, I liked the color. It compliments her eyes." I shrug off. Norma knows better of course. She gives me the look of a woman who knows the effect her beauty just caused me.

"Sit, sit. Tell me all about your life in Seattle." Norma tells the young couple.

"Well, I'm going to start college in January." Emma announces.

"That's amazing!" Norma exclaims.

"And Dylan said he may be going too." Emma adds to Norma's surprise. She's looking at Dylan now, who seems uncomfortable in the chair.

"Uh, I'm working at a computers store now. I'm in sales, but the manager said I could move ahead real quick if I had some education in marketing or tech. So I told Emma, in the summer, I might start taking some courses too." Dylan explains and Norma's face lights up.

"That's just great, Dylan! Even the fact you're thinking about it makes me happy. And I hope you do go. It's your future. You're young and smart; I know you can do it."

"Okay, Norma." He sounds like he needs a drink.

"Do you want something to drink, Dylan?" I offer and he looks actually relieved.

"Yes, man. Here…" He says reaching for the bags they brought. "There's a bottle of white and a bottle of red, too." I'm about to head into the kitchen when Dylan speaks and his question roots me to the spot.

"Hmm…. and how's Norman?" I look at Norma who looks a little hesitant. Emma also shows a little uneasiness.

"He's okay. He's good." Norma begins. "He's a little less angry now…" She stands up. "I'll tell you all about it, I promise, but… Can we go eat first?" She bargains with him.

* * *

"Mmm, this is so good!" Emma mentions. "Norma, you have to teach me how to cook."

"Yes, whenever you want to. I can give you a few recipes and you can start practicing."

"It is really good, Norma. Thanks." Dylan chimes in.

Few things make Norma happier than someone complimenting her culinary skills and the fact that both our guests are doing it right now makes for a very happy hostess. The sweet ham and mashed potatoes are delicious. There's also roast beef, gravy, steamed vegetables and the special sauce she makes with almonds I've come to love. If that weren't enough she baked not one, but three different desserts: pumpkin and apple pies, and a strawberry cheesecake.

We eat enjoying the young couple's updates of their life in Seattle and future plans, and how good Emma's health has been since receiving the lung transplant. At one point, I catch Norma's eyes over the floral arrangement in the middle of the table and raise my wine glass at her, just like I did that other time she invited all of us over. How much has happened since that dinner not so long ago. There has been a definite change of season for us. Her words from another moment come back to me, "It's funny how people aren't at all together and then all of a sudden they are." She raises her glass returning my gesture and I think it's possible we're both thinking the same thing right now.

After we finish our meal Norma invites Dylan to the living room with her.

"I'll help Alex clear the table." Emma offers quickly. We both know mother and son need some time in private.

We have been doing the dishes, and tidying the kitchen a little, but even though she is trying to be polite I also know Emma is endearingly nosy. I make small talk with her but after a while she grows impatient. I figure Dylan will tell her the details later but I decide to take her out of her misery and explain in a few words what happened: Norma and Norman leaving, me finding them in Florida, Norman attacking Norma and his subsequent, and for now, indefinitely stay in Pineview.

"Poor Norma. I can't imagine how horrible it must have been for her." She's close to crying. I pat her shoulder and try to lift her mood.

There's also nothing more for us to do in the kitchen. I know by now Norma has very specific ways of disposing and packing food, so I decide to leave the uneaten food on the table and invite Emma to go back into the living room.

We stop by the doorway, Norma and Dylan are seating on the sofa, hugging each other. I can hear when Dylan says "I'm sorry, Norma." He lets go of the hug and takes her hands in his. I can tell they're both softly crying now. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe he could do that to you. And I'm sorry about Norman, too. I wish I could've helped you both more."

"It's okay, Dylan. You did everything you could in the circumstances. And it's not your fault what happened. He's… sick. He needs help, and he is getting it now. I went to see him yesterday. He's still sedated but he talks, and seems relaxed. I miss him… I always do and always will. But I know I made the right choice. He's safe now." She kisses Dylan's cheek and he hugs her again.

Emma is crying now too. Norma notices it and stands up, releasing Dylan, just as Emma runs to hug her. "I'm sorry, Norma. I'm so sorry."

"Oh, honey. You're so sweet. And I'm so happy you're part of the family now." She places a kiss on Emma's forehead.

Dylan has walked over to me, and to my surprise, hugs me too. "Thank you, man." He says after our short hug. "Thanks for protecting her and for helping Norman." I nod and shake his hand firmly.

We are all running high on emotions and I'm relieved to hear Emma break the tension by asking "Should we open the presents now?"

Norma and I sit on the sofa while Dylan and Emma kneel by the tree, looking for the gifts they brought.

"This is for you Norma, from both of us." Dylan gives her a small box. She opens it and takes out a bracelet.

"Oh! It's beautiful!" She gushes and gives it to me so I can put it around her wrist. She's admiring it when Emma speaks.

"It's called the 'Mom bracelet'. Each charm is supposed to represent a child, and… uh… I hope you don't mind we put three charms in it. You're like a mother to me and… but that charm is different than the other two who are the same, and if you want to take it out it's totally fine too…" She's ranting now.

"Emma." Norma silences her. "I love it. And the third charm is perfect." They smile sincerely at each other. Then they give me a gift; a nice set of tumblers and shakers to mix drinks, which I thank them for.

"Those are for you. From both of us." Norma points to the half dozen gifts by the tree and Emma's eyes widen in delight. They're sitting on the floor like two kids too.

After every gift is opened and the room is filled with wrapping paper and laughter again, I look over at Norma and see her momentary sadness is gone. I go over to the turntable and put on some Christmas music, one of those records of the old music Norma likes.

"Do you like it?" I hear Norma ask Emma, who's holding up the sweater and hat she got her.

"Yes. I like everything; the necklace, the clothes, the books. Thank you, both." She says looking at me. I sit back next to my happy wife.

"The books were Alex's idea." Norma comments and reaches to touch my cheek.

Dylan looks happy too with his new shirts, scarf and watch.

"I want to take some pictures of all of us." Norma announces as she goes and gets her new camera from the hallway. "Dylan, Emma, can you get in front of the tree?"

They do as she asks and she takes a couple of photos. "That's a nice camera! I haven't seen it before. Is it new?" Dylan notices.

"Yes. Alex gave it to me." She answers cheerfully holding the Canon camera I got her. It's not one of the very expensive ones, but it is better than the one she had before.

"Christmas gift?" He asks.

"No. Just a…" She looks at me searching for a response.

"Just any-kind-of-day gift." I supply for her. Emma 'awws' from her spot and Dylan makes an approving face.

"Alex, would you take a picture of me with the kids?" She asks giving me the camera and standing in between them. After I take a couple of pictures Emma moves away saying we should get a picture of only Norma and Dylan. They at first complain not wanting to make her feel left out, but at her insistence that it's fine they happily pose. It's a beautiful picture, mother and son, hugging and smiling on a perfect Christmas Day.

"Now you two." Emma instructs me and it is now my turn to go hug Norma in front of the tree.

After the little impromptu photo session is over, I propose we get drinks for everyone, and Dylan offers to help. When we come back from the kitchen the two women are sitting side by side, giggling and looking at the camera. They barely look at us when we put their drinks in front of them on the table.

"This was on the bay." Norma points to the camera screen.

"I love your outfit!"

"Thanks. This was last Saturday at the park, and this day we went for a walk on the beach but of course it was too cold already!"

"You look very happy in all these pictures, Norma."

"Yes. I am. Alex makes me very happy."

"Oh my God!"

"What?"

"I never thought of it before but, he's Cuban, right?"

"Yes. Well, his parents are. He was born here, why?"

"Norma, you married a Latin hot lover!"

"Emma!"

Dylan and I look at them; we can only hear some words of their conversation over the music and our own talking, but somehow their voices have become shrilly and they haven't even touched their drinks.

"You did!"

"Hmmm, yeah I guess I did."

"No wonder you're so happy."

"Emma! Stop it!" We look at them giggling and have no idea why but by the way they're looking at us I have a slight suspicion is about either of us. Emma stands up and I go over to where Norma is seating.

"What are you giggling about?" I inquire.

"Nothing. Girl talk." The complicit way she's looking at me tells me she might tell me later.

She looks at Dylan and Emma who are changing the record and her smile falters a little. "I know what you're thinking. Please, don't. I know you miss him, but you have the other one here now. Enjoy it." I speak low so Dylan can't hear me.

"I know. At least one of the two persons I brought into this world found happiness, right?" She pauses, deep in thought. "Emma is such a good girl and she is a really good influence on Dylan." Her smile returns.

"Oh, you went to the Winter Lights Festival!" Emma screams excitedly when she discovers our picture on the table. "You two look so cute!" She looks back at us. "Don't they, Dylan?"

"Yeah, I guess." He replies shrugging his shoulders.

"That's the day I went to visit you at the hospital, remember?" Norma mentions.

"Yes. I'm so glad you decided to go."

"Me too." She kisses me on the cheek and stands up quickly but falters and her whole body sways. I jump to my feet to steady her.

"Norma? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just a little light headed. I was just about to go get some dessert."

"You've been on your feet all day. You need to rest a little." I help her sit down again.

"I'm fine."

"I'll go get her a glass of water." Emma jumps in.

"Can you please bring me a piece of pie? And bring some for yourself too! I'm not going to get stuck here with three pies by myself! You all have to eat too!" She yells at them as they disappear into the hallway.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I insist.

"Yes! As you said, I'm probably just tired. It's been a long day."

"But are you happy?"

"Immensely. Thank you."

"You've done most of it."

"You found Dylan. And for that I can't thank you enough."

"You're welcome, then." We exchange a soft and chaste kiss on the lips and I feel her hands on the side on my face. I start to pull her towards me a little bit more when I hear the clearing of throats and open my eyes to see Dylan and Emma, who are back with plates full of pie. Emma is smiling from ear to ear. I am mortified by her glee.

"I told you they are cute." She tells Dylan.

"Yeah, ok. Whatever." He grumbles and Norma laughs.

"We're the middle aged couple caught making out on the sofa by the younger one. Norma, we are a cliché." I tell her and she laughs again.

"But you heard her. We are cute!" She presses a quick kiss on my lips.

After a while, Dylan comes back from the kitchen with another piece of pie and sits down next to Norma. Emma and I are now occupying the chairs opposite the sofa. She's at the moment busy reading one of her new books and I'm listening to the music.

"This is so good, Norma." He says around a mouthful.

"It's your favorite. Why do you think I made three different desserts? I know you can eat that pumpkin pie all by yourself." She teases him and he ducks his head.

I close my eyes and relax back. The food, the music, the drinks (although I'm only on my second one) have made me sleepy. I also use the opportunity to let them have more privacy and talk even though I can hear what they're saying.

"I'm so glad you're here, honey."

"Me too. I was so surprised when you called me. I thought you'd never wanted to talk to me again."

"No, honey. That's impossible. I never would want that. And I want to tell you how sorry I am for fighting, for leaving and not telling you. For not listening to you, or to Alex, until it was almost too late."

"That's okay, Norma. We all need to learn from our own pains. I forgive you. Would you forgive me for all the times I was a shitty son?"

"Yes! Of course."

"Uh… I know Caleb was here. He called me a few days ago and we'll meet up in Seattle later. I want you to know I told him I can't force you to have a relationship with him. I tried and it didn't end well. I get it now. It's too much for you and I'm sorry I ever asked you to do anything you didn't want to do."

"I love you, Dylan. You know that, do you?"

"I know, yes. And… I can tell you're very happy with Alex."

"Yes. Yes, I am. He's… he's everything I never had and always wanted. He's a good man. We love each other so much."

"I told you he wanted more than to give you his health insurance. But you didn't want to believe me."

"I guess you were right."

I hear the soft laughter coming from Norma, and also Dylan announcing him and Emma are done for the night.

"Already?" Norma protests.

"Emma needs to rest. And we'll be around tomorrow too." Dylan explains to her.

"Yes, I know. Okay."

We walk over to the door. Norma gives Dylan the motel keys.

"Room 1 is ready. I left freshly baked cookies in there too. Do you want to take anything else from the kitchen?"

"I don't think so, I'm full. Emma?"

"No, thanks. The cookies will be fine for tonight."

"Okay, I'll see you both tomorrow. Come up to the house for breakfast. I'll have leftovers packed and ready too so you can take it with you. There's so much food. Don't leave without saying goodbye!"

"Of course not, Norma!" Emma exclaims.

Norma rearranges Dylan's scarf and he tries to swap her hands away. "Leave it. I'm just walking down to the motel."

"Well, it's cold outside. I don't want you to get sick."

She catches our exchanged looks and suppressed laughter. "What? I'm still your mother."

Emma moves to hug her goodbye. "Merry Christmas, Norma. And thank you for everything." Then she hugs me too. Dylan and I shake hands.

"Thank you, Alex. For taking care of her."

"It's my pleasure." I reply.

He moves to hug Norma and she hugs him the way she does everything: with full intent and emotion.

"Merry Christmas, Mom. I love you." He tells her and she gasps audibly.

"I love you too. Goodnight, honey." She kisses him on both cheeks and then kisses Emma goodbye. We close the door behind them and hover at the foot of the stairs holding hands.

"Happy?"

"Yes."

"Tired?"

"No."

"If there was a mistletoe this will be the moment I kiss you."

"This garland right here could serve as a good substitute." She directs her gaze to the long garland decorating the handrail from top to bottom.

"I think it could."

I kiss her softly, tentatively, teasing her lips slowly. She sighs into the kiss when my tongue brushes against her lower lip. The moment her mouth opens I slip my tongue inside and caress her tongue with mine. She moans and I remember I had a plan.

"I think it's time you open your last gift."

"Now?" She looks confused.

"I left it on the bed. But there's one condition."

"What?"

"You have to wear it tonight." I whisper against her ear and feel her slightly tremble.

"That was a small box. And you want me to wear whatever's inside that box?"

"Yeah…" I'm already breathless but her question makes me doubt. "I mean, if you want to." I'm thinking now she might not like it, being told what to wear. Maybe I pushed this too far.

She moves her head back to look at me. Then I see the beginning of a smirk. "Give me ten minutes and then come up." Her voice is low and seductive.

I find myself nodding. "I'll turn off the lights." I watch her going up the stairs, my eyes glued to the sway of her hips, slower and more enticing than usual.

* * *

My heart is hammering wildly against my chest as I reach the door to our bedroom. She's not lying in bed where I expected her to be, and in a second I see why. She's standing in front of her mirror and the way she positioned herself allows me an unobstructed sight of the front of her body reflected on the mirror with her back to me also in my full line of vision. I have a complete view of her.

"Jesus!" I approach her slowly and stand behind her, both in front of the mirror now, and run my hands down the length of her arms.

"Is this what you wanted to see?" She asks suggestively.

"This is more than what I expected. It looks so much better on you than it did on the mannequin at the store." I grab her waist and press her body to mine. Her hands start touching my thighs over my dress pants.

I start playing with the edge of her small panties. It's not a thong, but it is something decisively smaller than I've ever seen her wear. Just a triangle of black fabric on the front and another on the back held together by two very thin straps at each side of her hips. I run my finger down the elastic that is holding her stockings up.

"What's the name of this?" I whisper next to her ear.

"A garter belt." She sounds breathless too. I caress the expanse of pale thigh not covered by the black stockings, running both my hands up and down her thighs a few times. Then I forego her middle and reach for her breasts which are threatening to spill out of the bra she's wearing. I cup them, hold their weight in my hands and she throws her head back against my shoulder when I pinch her nipples through the fabric. I'm kissing her neck and shoulders too, tiny butterfly kisses that are leaving goose bumps on her skin.

She is moving, insistently pressing her ass into my hips, my hard-on already straining inside my pants. I bring one hand to her ass cheek and squeeze it, the small panties barely covering her, my hand finding mostly bare flesh.

When my hand moves to her lower belly, she wraps one arm behind my neck, already panting. I tease her by playing with the edge of her panties for a little before I let my hand inside. She moans when I rub her clit and when I dip my fingers lower to find her wetness. I keep playing with her, bringing her closer to the brink.

She has her face buried into the side of my neck, a string of moans coming from her mouth. I'm holding her up with my left arm wrapped around her middle.

"Norma, look. Look at us, look at yourself." I encourage in a low grunt and she does. Her eyes find mine on the mirror and then follow my gaze to where my fingers are pleasuring her. I gaze leisurely at her starting at her feet and going up: black high heels, legs slightly parted and obscured by the black stockings, white thighs trembling, the fabric of her panties straining under my hand, the taut muscles of her belly under my arm, her breasts pointing upward as she slightly arches her back. Neck exposed, mouth open. I reach her eyes; she's been watching me watching her the entire time.

"Fuck, you're so beautiful." I speed up my hand movements.

"Ahh… Alex… ohgod…" She tries to keep her eyes open but closes them involuntarily at the last second. Her orgasm hits her and she writhes in my arms, forcefully and beautifully. When she calms down I slowly take my hand away from her hot center and she turns around, throwing her arms around my neck and resting her head on my shoulder. In doing so she's now giving me the full view of her back; her perfect ass encased in the small underwear, the garter belt around her waist. I can't stop myself and run my index finger down the length of her spine and lower back until I reach her ass and caress it with both hands, slowly squeeze it too. She's purring as I place kisses on her cheek and on her hair.

She then kisses my neck and starts taking off my shirt with a newfound purpose. She's undoing my belt and fly and shoving her hand down my pants all in one swift motion. She touches me through my boxers and I moan. Then I feel her hand encircling my hardened skin and it is too much. I need her now.

I kiss her aggressively, prying her lips apart forcefully. "Bed." I groan between kisses.

"No. Floor." I hear her but look back at her to confirm that's what she said.

She kneels on the floor, taking my pants and boxers with her. I follow her down. I sit back on my heels and she straddles me. She moves her panties aside and guides me to her entrance, lowering herself on my length. I grab her hips and bury my head in between her breasts.

"Alex, look. Look at us." She urges and I look up and find her already studying our reflection in the mirror to our side. We can't see our full bodies, the mirror doesn't reach the floor, but what I see is enough. Her torso moving up and down and pressing her still covered breasts into my naked chest. Her hands around my neck, I reach up to grab handfuls of her hair. We are hypnotized. It is sensual. It is beautiful. It is hot.

She smiles at me on the mirror. Then she turns to look at me and we kiss. We forget about the mirror.

"I love you." She gasps and I feel her clenching around me and I come too; hard and deep, shuddering and holding onto her like she's my only saving grace.

After long minutes of lying on the floor she speaks. "We should go to bed. But I can't move."

That's my cue to carry my wife to our bed. I lay her down gently and take off her shoes. With some difficulty I undo the tiny clasps holding her garter belt and stockings together and take them off too. Lastly I take off her bra and underwear. She's already yawning, exhausted by the long day and night.

I cover her naked body with the sheet and get under it next to her. We hug, as always, becoming a tangled mess of arms and legs.

"You lied to me." She says and I slightly tense up.

"When?"

"You said that was a gift for me. I think you gifted that to yourself."

I chuckle. "I can argue you enjoyed that gift very much too."

"I did."

"Then what are you complaining about?"

"I'm not. I'm just saying…" She yawns. "Merry Christmas, Alex."

"Merry Christmas, Norma."

* * *

TBC…

PS. Story is soon coming to an end.


	13. Calm and Quiet

**A/N: I made a little calendar mistake on the previous chapter. I placed Christmas Day on Friday, and it must have been on Sunday. I probably looked at November in the calendar. It's not that important to the story but I like to be accurate with real dates so in this chapter I corrected it by placing NYE on Saturday. Also, in this story Norman didn't kill Emma's mom, so Norma doesn't know she's dead, because it didn't happen like in the show. It would be weird for this story if Norma knew. Emma was abandoned by her mom when she was a kid and found in Norma a surrogate mother figure (show canon), hence the bracelet gift. These are just little things I keep thinking about after I post the story. A writer's mind never sleeps. And last but not least important, thank you so much for all your reviews and messages! Hope you enjoy this shorter and full of fluff chapter.**

* * *

"It was so nice to have Dylan and Emma here for a couple days, wasn't it?" Norma mentions happily while handing me a plate and sitting down to have dinner together.

"Yeah, it was."

"I'm glad he went to see Norman, too. I'm thinking of going this Friday. I last went to see him right before Christmas, and I'd like to see him before this weekend too." She ponders.

"Mmm, yes, whatever you want." I say in between bites. "I should tell you now that I have plans for the weekend."

"What kind of plans?" She eyes me curiously.

"Umm, the thing is I always get away from White Pine Bay during these days; you know, the Holidays. This year has been different because of you." She tilts her head to the side and smiles. "It all started as a family thing, then it became a sort of tradition. When my dad moved my mom and me here because of his work, my grandparents stayed behind in Florida."

"Your family is from Florida?!"

"Yes, that's where I was born actually. Jacksonville."

"I didn't know that about you. That's very close to St. Augustine."

"Yes, you have no idea how many memories that trip brought back."

"I'm sorry you had to go all the way over there looking for me."

"That's okay. The memories were good. Back from when I was very little. Anyway, we moved here but every Christmas my dad would send us to visit my grandparents. Sometimes I even visited in the summer. We did that until my grandparents died when I was a teenager. Then my mom died… but I guess the custom stayed with me, and since I had nobody to visit I'd just get on a plane, or in a car, and go somewhere where I could be alone for a few days, just away from all the festivities."

She looks at me with sadness in her eyes.

"I didn't know Christmas was a hard time for you."

"It's not anymore." I smile sincerely at her, letting her know she is the reason why. "So I booked a short trip for this weekend."

"But this weekend is New Year's Eve." She sounds deflated.

"Yeah I know. I thought it would be fun."

"Oh. Ok, yes, I think you should go then." She looks down to her plate, suddenly uninterested, moving her food around on the plate but not eating it. At her lack of enthusiasm I realize she thinks I'm leaving without her.

"You're going with me."

"I am?" She looks up surprised.

"Yes! What, you thought I was leaving you alone for New Year's?" Her face lights up at my words.

"Well, you said it was a family tradition and that you went by yourself."

"You're my family now."

She grins widely and starts eating her food again.

* * *

I got off work earlier today so we could make our flight late afternoon. Norma was excited about spending New Year's Eve in Santa Barbara. She even went to see Norman on Thursday so she could devote Friday to pack our stuff and be ready for when I went to pick her up.

We arrive at the small but nice hotel near the beach and check-in into our room. Upon opening the door we are greeted by the sight of a gigantic canopy bed in the middle of the room. The breeze coming from the half opened window that leads to the balcony makes the fabric hanging from the bed posts move lazily against the white down comforter and the many pillows lying on top of it.

Norma looks around the spacious room, with its classic contemporary decoration, the furniture a dark shade of cherry wood and white fabrics. I put our weekend travel bags down and she goes to the balcony, but it is dark and you can only see the street lights, so she closes the window completely.

"You used to go by yourself to places like this?" She turns around to look at me, a playful expression on her face.

"You know me and my love for canopy beds." She knows I only chose this hotel because of her.

It's barely 8 o'clock, early enough to go out to dinner, so I wait while she changes and then we head out.

After dinner we take a stroll around the streets close to the hotel; stopping every now and then to admire the stores' windows and endless Christmas decorations. There's a strong ocean breeze reaching us, and I look at Norma, who is only wearing a dress and a sweater.

"Are you sure you're not cold? I can give you my jacket."

"No, I'm fine. I'm actually enjoying this weather, such a nice change from the cold White Pine Bay right now. I mean, it's not hot but it is definitely not cold."

"That's California."

"But thank you for offering me your jacket."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Romero."

"I told you I'm keeping my name." She says laughing.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you keeping your name?" She stops walking and looks over at me, her eyes wide.

"Umm, I… well…"

"It's fine, Norma. I'm not criticizing or demanding anything, I'm just curious. You don't have to say anything. Let's keep walking, it's getting late."

"I married Sam when I was 20. I never took John's name, at least not legally. But I did with Sam's. I've been Bates for more than half my life. At this point it doesn't even feel like his name anymore, but mine, and I guess it just feels weird to think of myself as having any other last name." She pauses and takes a big breath. "I like when people call me Mrs. Romero when I go to the grocery store or to the hair salon, everybody in White Pine Bay knows I'm your wife… but if you want me to, I can change it, legally I mean."

"No, I don't want you to do something because you think that's what I want. I also think about you as Norma Bates, that's how I met you. My mother never took my father's name. I think it's independent and modern and feminist, and completely your choice. I like when people call you Mrs. Romero too, but I don't need you to change your name, Mrs. Sheriff." I close the distance between us, wrapping my hands around her waist, bringing her closer for a hug.

"You don't?"

"Not as long as you keep screaming my name when you come…"

"Alex!" She screams at me looking around to see if anybody heard me.

"Yes, like that."

She hits me admonishingly in the arm. I give her a quick kiss and we start walking back to the hotel.

* * *

When I open my eyes in the morning, I see Norma standing in front of the open balcony windows, the sunlight already coming in. She's wearing a white short slip that, against the light, is leaving very little to the imagination. I can see the contours of her body through it, her small waist, and her ample hips. It cuts in a profound V down her back, and is short, so I can also see a lot of skin and her shapely legs.

"Good morning." I greet her from the bed. She turns her head to the side for a moment to acknowledge me.

"Good morning, hun. I couldn't see it last night, but this room has a great view! I can see all the way to the ocean."

"Yeah, it's a great view." I say as I get out of bed and walk the short distance towards her, wrapping my arms around her when I reach her. "But from where I was, the gorgeous view had nothing to do with the ocean." My hands roam down her hips and I place a kiss on her neck.

"Hmmm." She leans into me. "Can we go to the beach? I mean, not to get in the ocean or anything, just for a walk?"

"Yes. It's just a few blocks walking distance from here."

"Okay, I'm gonna get dressed."

After a good and big breakfast we arrive at the sandy beach. Like the last time we took a stroll on a beach, back in St. Augustine, she takes off her shoes. We walk a few minutes, enjoying the warm sun and the nice cool breeze, when she bends down to retrieve something from the sand.

"Look, a seashell. Is pretty, isn't it?" She says while holding the pinkish piece on the outstretched palm of her hand. I look at it, then at the expression of wonder on her face. I like how she always takes joy in the smallest things.

"Is not as pretty as you." She smiles back at me and puts the seashell inside her purse.

"I'm going to keep it. And we should take some pictures."

"Did you bring your camera in that purse?" Seems to me the camera is too big to fit in there.

"No, silly. But I have my phone." She takes it out and starts taking pictures of the beach, then of us.

"Let me take one of just you." I take the phone from her hand. She poses, or rather just stands there in her dark green dress with tiny yellow flowers, the sea and sky behind her as blue as her eyes, her beaming smile illuminating her face, and I think how lucky I am.

After a few pictures she comes over to look at them.

"God! Is such beautiful scenery."

"I can buy a house here. We can move." I blurt out. "I mean, I can sell my house, you can sell yours. We could start over anywhere you want."

She looks pensive for a moment. "That would be lovely but… I want to be close to Norman, in case he needs me sometime, anytime. And also Dylan, I don't want to be so far away from him either."

"I understand." I nod at her. I can't forget she's a mother and wouldn't be completely happy not being able to frequently see her sons the way she's used to.

"But I wouldn't mind coming over for vacation every year. I'm starting to love the ocean and the warm weather." I smile at the meaning behind her words.

She wraps her arms around my neck and I place mine on her lower back. She inches forward, her lips barely touching mine, until we can't take any more of our own teasing and we kiss. I nip her lips and she sighs, and I hold the back of her head, keeping her in place as I drink her in.

* * *

"Alex, can we stay in tonight?" She surprises me with the question.

"But it's New Year's Eve. I thought you wanted to go out and have fun."

"Yes, but I'm tired. I don't want to get dressed again. I just want to eat and be here with you. Is that okay?"

To be fair, I'm tired too. We walked around the old town the whole day. Between stops at the beach, the little shops and antiques stores that Norma enjoyed far too much, and eating a late lunch, when we looked at the clock it was already 6 pm.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. In fact, I'm going to take a bath. And when I'm back I expect food in the room." She winks at me and disappears into the bathroom.

I chuckle. "What do you want?"

"Pancakes!" She yells from the bathroom.

"Pancakes? For dinner?"

"What's wrong with pancakes for dinner?"

I shrug at her answer and make the call. Room service arrives later with our food and I go into the bathroom where she is still soaking in her bath.

"Having fun in there?" I ask while I catch a glimpse of her leg raised and bent above water, her shoulders and collarbones glistening from the bubbles, the curves of her breasts barely covered by the foam, her relaxed face. "Food is here." I clear my throat which has suddenly gone dry.

"Can you hand me a towel, please?" She opens her eyes and rises from the foamy water, rivulets of water running down her body, making my eyes roam over each inch of exposed skin. She catches me staring, of course, and slowly covers herself with the towel smiling devilishly. I'm unapologetically in my desire for her.

She comes back into the bedroom dressed in the hotel's fluffy white bathrobe. Just when I'm about to sit down in the small table to eat, she takes her plate of pancakes and moves over to the bed.

"What are you doing?"

"Eating in bed. Are you coming?" I shake my head in amusement but take my own plate and follow her to the bed. I was shocked at first at her insistence on eating in bed, but that's what hotels are for, and to be honest, is not so bad to see her enjoy her pancakes while seating next to me in the giant bed. It's actually fun and she looks cute, all wrapped up in the white terry cloth.

She feeds me pieces from her pancakes; I share my scrambled eggs with her. I ordered breakfast too since it seemed strange to get any other kind of food while she ordered pancakes. I also got fruit and cheese. When we are done eating I kiss her, without preamble, I just want to taste the syrup on her lips.

"I'm sticky." She objects.

"I like you sticky."

"Alex!" She shrieks in delight as I try to kiss her neck and undo the tie of her bathrobe. "I can't have sex right now. I just ate. I'm too full." She protests and I stop.

"Okay. I'll go take a shower then. But don't go anywhere."

"I won't."

When I get out she's already watching some black and white movie. Leave it to Norma to find a classic to watch at any given time. I finish drying my hair with a towel and toss it aside much to her annoyance judging from her disapproving look.

"What? You can eat pancakes in bed at night but I can't throw a towel on a chair?" I half tease her.

"Fine."

I sit down next to her and watch the rest of the movie. By the end of it, she's sniffling softly, and I kiss her temple in comfort.

"Didn't they end up together and happy?" I ask referring to the couple in the movie.

"Yes, that's why I'm crying."

I keep kissing her; on her lips, her face, her neck, and this time she lets me undo the tie on her bathrobe, and I find her nude, warm and eager under it.

* * *

We have fallen asleep and the noises from outside, coming in through the opened windows wake me up. People are celebrating. I look outside and see some fireworks.

"Norma… baby, wake up."

"Hmmm…What?"

"Look, there's fireworks. You told me to wake you up if there was any."

She raises herself up on her elbow and looks outside. I touch her bare back, she looks back at me and then turns around, hugging me fiercely.

"Happy New Year, Alex." She whispers.

"Happy New Year, Norma."

I stay listening to the sounds from the street and her breathing next to me. I don't fall back asleep right away as she did. I think about everything I have told her about my family in the last few months; and about all the things I've learned she has gone through in her life, mainly at the hands of her family too. I'm amazed at her capacity to forgive the ones she loves even when they do the most despicable things. How she keeps fighting and loving and living.

I look at her sleeping form, so calm and quiet, and I wish nothing more for her in the next year than that: happiness and calmness and serene moments. I'll try my damn best to give her that. I hear the beep on my phone and get up to see who is texting me at this time. I read the message. It's Regina, probably drunk, wishing me a Happy New Year. She is a very good employee, although I suspect she doesn't like Norma very much. I chuckle. I put the phone down and go to the bathroom.

As I make my way back to the bed, my breath catches in my throat when I see Norma, who must have moved in her sleep because the thin sheet of white cotton that was covering her is not covering her anymore. The room is dark, save for the light from the bathroom, which casts a triangle of light on the floor and on the bed. We had sex a few hours ago but seeing her like this; asleep, on her stomach, her perfect ass in full view, make me want her all over again.

I walk slowly over to the bed, as I feast my eyes on her naked curves. I put one knee on the bed, then the other, and before I could stop myself cover her entire body with mine. I press my chest to her back, my hips into her ass, grab her hands in mine, and press my face into her hair and inhale the scent of it.

I move my hips just the tiniest bit against her and she wakes up. Then she instantly tenses up, raises her head and hips in an attempt to move and I hear her gasp. I immediately think she's afraid, and how could she not?

"God, Norma. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, I forgot…" I quickly lift my hips away from her.

"No, don't move. It feels nice." She raises her hips trying to make contact with mine again. "I know it was you. I will never be afraid of you."

She says breathlessly and again I'm impressed by her ability to trust. I am incredibly grateful that she feels safe with me.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I want to do this, right now." She echoes her own words from the first time I asked for her assurance that it was okay to touch her.

So I start moving against her. Slowly building the tension. I let my hands on her hands without holding her down. She moans low in her throat when I slip inside her and I try to maintain some sense of control. We stay like this for long minutes, me rocking my hips slowly and steadily against her, and burying my face in her hair. Then she moves up, raising her hips and using her hands as leverage. I am infinitely surprised she wants this position. Is a new one for us. I keep thrusting into her wet heat, holding onto her hips, while she closes her fists on the bed sheet trying to hold on to something. Then she fully stands up, with me still inside her, and wraps an arm behind my neck. The angle is shallower but still incredibly enjoyable. I'm close but I won't go before her, I think just as she grabs my hand that is holding her hip and directs it to between her legs. She puts my hand on her, and motions her own hand on top of mine in tiny circles against her clit. I take the hint and do it myself and she comes apart, shaking and contracting around me. She falls forward down, on her hands and knees again, and I hold onto her hips as I empty myself into her.

* * *

The next day we go back to the airport. The short trip, which could be called a honeymoon, but I won't say it although I think Norma may have caught up with my plan, may be over but the feeling of closeness and intimacy is still with us. Norma smiles at me whenever she catches me looking at her and she puts her arm around my waist as we make our way among the people that like us are returning to their homes to start the New Year in their own homes.

Hours later we arrive at the house, and I catch myself thinking that for the first time in a long time, I am happy. Never imagined that marrying this woman, the one I once thought to be incredibly annoying and mysterious and dangerous, would be such a big change in my life. The last three months have proved to be anything but boring.

Going up the big steps of stairs I look up at the house looming. Bad things have happened in this house, but also good ones. I'm willing to bet for a few more good moments, I may lose sometimes, but she's worth the risk.

I hurry up my pace to meet her at the top of the stairs where she stopped to wait for me.

* * *

TBC…

PS. I may have found inspiration for a couple more chapters.


	14. Force of Nature

**A/N: Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! And, this may not make much sense to you all, but this is a "Hive Mind Disclaimer": This chapter has a very similar line, almost word for word, to one line on Gene Harlow's WSHAB fic and just so you know, I didn't copy her. Nor did she copy me. We just have kindred, twin minds. And we know it ;) End of disclaimer. Hope you enjoy the next few chapters! Thanks for reading!**

* * *

"Hi! Is my husband in?" I ask Regina as I enter the station. I place emphasis on the word _husband_. I don't feel as weird now calling him that. He is my husband and the people who work with him know, and anyway, I'm here on a mission so I have to mark my territory from the get go.

She looks up from her computer screen to me and looks slightly displeased. God, I know she hates me but can she be a little less obvious about it?

"Uh, no, Mrs. Romero. He went out but should be back shortly. Do you want to come in and wait for him in his office?" She asks with a fake smile.

"Actually, that would be great. Thank you! And also, I brought something for you, I mean, for all of you here at the station." Now she looks at me like I just said I'm dropping an atomic bomb on them.

"It's a cake. I brought a Happy New Year's cake for all of you. If you can help me with the door, I can bring it in." I offer and she stands up, and holds the door open while I go to the chair to retrieve the box holding the cake I brought.

"Where shall I put it?"

"Uh… here, come with me Mrs. Romero, please." She directs and I follow her to another room, a small kitchen where there are a few officers having their lunches.

"Guys, Mrs. Romero brought a cake."

"It's for all of you. I made it. I just wanted to say thank you for keeping our town safe. Alex only has great words about you, about all of you." I say looking at Regina who looks uncomfortable and slightly in shock.

"Thank you, Mrs. Romero." One of the men says and the others follow suit.

"Oh! You're welcome, it's nothing really. Enjoy!" I leave them to their lunch and the cake.

"Do you want coffee or anything while you wait for the sheriff?" Regina offers.

"Yes, please. Coffee will be fine, thanks." I answer as she directs me to Alex's office. She then comes back with a coffee mug and gives it to me.

"Here you go. And thank you again, for the cake. That was really nice of you."

"Oh. It's okay. I hope you like red velvet cake and buttercream frosting." I take a sip of coffee.

"I do." She smiles, not so forced this time.

"Oh well! Look at the time! Alex is not back yet and I have a million things to do! I better go." I say standing up and she leads me to the exit.

"Happy New Year, Regina."

"Happy New Year, Mrs. Bates. I mean, Mrs. Romero."

* * *

"What's this I hear my wife coming into the station bearing baked gifts for my employees?" I greet her when I find her at the kitchen after I arrive home from work.

She turns around and we hug. I press a kiss on her forehead.

"I just thought I do something nice. You know, for karma and all that. I know your secretary hates me."

"Who? Regina? She doesn't hate you."

She raises her eyebrow at me. "She does. And it's probably my fault in a way. I know sometimes I'm not the easiest person to deal with."

"Sometimes?" I say half-jokingly.

"Well, I'm trying. I don't want the people you work with to think you have a horrible wife."

"They don't think that. _I_ don't think that." I kiss her lips softly.

"Good." She seems to like my answer.

* * *

Three days into the New Year and Norma's humor has changed completely. I don't mind her mood swings. That's one of the things about her I found completely fascinating and utterly irritating at the same time ever since I met her. Now that I live with her it's easier to maneuver them. I can keep her calm, most of the times.

But I can't seem to figure what is bothering her so much this time. Maybe she really likes Christmas and since holidays are over she's in a bad temper about it. She hasn't gone to visit Norman yet since we got back from Santa Barbara, so that can't be it.

"Norma?" I find her doing the dishes from our breakfast. "I'm leaving for work."

"Yeah, okay." She doesn't turn around but I go over and kiss her cheek.

"See you tonight." I tell her and leave.

* * *

After dinner we go to the living room. I offer to put on one of her favorite movies.

"Yeah, whatever you want." She answers without much enthusiasm.

She does sit next to me, and 20 minutes later, has her head on my shoulder and her legs under her; her favorite relaxing position to watch TV. But before the movie ends she stands up, announcing she forgot to wash her hair and is getting late and she should do it now.

Back in the bedroom, as we get ready for bed, I observe her. She is silently going through all her evening rituals; putting on lotion on her legs, brushing her hair, looking out the window. She always does that even if there are no guests staying at the motel.

Then she takes off her robe, hangs it on the folding screen and comes to bed. I turn off the bedside lamp and settle in, expecting her to want to cuddle and fall asleep, but she surprises me by kissing me with fervent passion and I don't ask her what she wants. Her intention is clear.

Our encounter tonight is fast and hard and passionate.

* * *

"Norma. Is something wrong?" I ask her the next day when her mood hasn't improved by the early evening.

"Why?"

"Because you seem distant, preoccupied." I thread the waters of her emotions carefully.

"I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"What do you want from me?" The volume in her voice is rising.

"The same thing I always want from you: the truth. You haven't said anything in hours, you are miles away. Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong! I don't know if anything's wrong. It's just… things. Things that happened… or may not happen."

"What the hell does that even mean?" I speak loudly at her now, louder than I intended to, and instantly regret it.

"I don't want to talk about it!"

She burst out of the room, runs up the stairs and I hear the door being shut.

I know she misses Norman but I hope this has nothing to do with him. I hope she doesn't want him back in the house. I won't allow it. It will be more difficult anyway, now that we've both signed the authorization for his medical care. Doctors will have to agree that he's healthy enough to be released. But I still get anxious thinking that's what she might be thinking about. It might not be a good conversation to have but we'll need to talk about it.

* * *

"I went to see Norman today." She tells me the next day over dinner.

"How is he?" I keep the conversation going; trying to find out if her foul mood from yesterday had anything to do with it. Maybe Dr. Edwards had called and given her some bad news ahead of her visit.

"He's still not out of the woods, so to speak."

"What does that mean?"

"It means… it just means he's still in therapy, he's still on meds, nothing's changed. Dr. Edwards thinks he needs more time." She's sniffing now.

"Norma, you might think he's not getting any better, but at least he's getting help. And while he's in there he can't hurt himself or anybody else."

"You've told me that already." She says through gritted teeth.

"Because it's the truth."

"Fine." She takes a bite of food, chews at it angrily and swallows it.

"I think he was happy Dylan went to see him." She mentions as an afterthought.

"That's good. It's important he feels he has his brother's support too."

"I want to ask you something." She says and I stop eating, put my fork down and give her my undivided attention.

"Yes?"

"If something happened to me, would you take care of Norman?"

"What?" I'm instantly scared. Is she sick? I remember her dizzy spells from days before. Has she been threatened again by one of the assholes who live in this town? "Why are you asking me that?" I try to sound calm and collected, although I'm anything but.

"No reason at all. But if I were to die tomorrow Norman would have no one. Aside from Dylan that is, and he's too young and doesn't have any money so... Would you take care of him?" She's close to crying, pleading with her eyes.

"Yes, Norma. I'd take care of Norman. I mean, I would keep paying for his medical insurance if that's what you're asking."

"That would be enough. Thank you."

She keeps eating like she didn't just talked about dying and begged me to take care of her mentally unstable son in her absence.

We finish eating in silence. I help her clear the table and do the dishes. Her hand lingers on my back when she passes by me while cleaning the counter top and table surfaces. It's a nice quiet moment.

"Are you going to watch some TV?" She asks absentmindedly.

"Maybe."

"I'm going upstairs, want to take a bath."

"Okay."

After watching TV for a while, I get bored and head upstairs myself. I change for bed and then she comes into the bedroom. She goes through her nightly routine. But tonight she climbs into bed and instead of lying down she kneels next to me.

"I need to tell you something."

I'm frozen by her words. My worst fears come rushing to the front of my brain as fast scary thoughts: she's sick, she wants to bring Norman back, she's leaving me.

"I'm listening." I manage to say in the calmest voice, even though I'm tampering down the urge to grab her by the shoulders and ask what the hell is going on. But I wait.

"I've been going crazy about something for days now and… I'm sorry I've been angry and distant. I'm also too scared to even go by myself, I thought about it, but then couldn't do it." She is not making any sense to me.

"Norma, please tell me what is going on."

"I'm late." She blurts out.

"Late for what?"

"Late, late." She repeats motioning her hand over her belly and it hits me. I look up to her face and her eyes are wide and scared.

"Oh." Is my only response, the repercussions of what she's saying too grand for me to form another sentence right now, and of course she takes my lack of words as a bad sign and keeps talking fast and desperately.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I was stupid. We never talked about it. Contraception or kids. I don't even know what you want… if you want kids or not. And it's my fault, I should've been more careful. I've been off birth control for a while now, because… well, because there wasn't anybody. And everything with us…" She motions her hands in between us, "happened so fast. And this is not the way we should've had this conversation, not when this might be happening already."

She lowers her head, resting her forehead on her hand. She looks so lost.

"Norma." I say reaching out for her. "First of all, it's not your fault and it's not only your responsibility. I was there. I should've asked. I could've been more careful too." I move her hand away from her face and place my index finger under her chin, lifting her head up, making her look at me.

She's crying now, tears silently running down her face. I'm trying to understand why she is not happy about the possibility of being pregnant. Does she not want more kids?

"And you're right; we didn't have that conversation before and it seems fitting, we always did things backwards, so let's have it now. I want you to know I've been safe with everybody else, so you know, you're safe."

"Me too, I've been careful too. And I've had tests done after…" She stops and looks at me sadly.

At the reminder of her attack at the hands of Keith I try to lighten up the mood quickly.

"Well, we already established that we were stupid about not using any kind of contraception."

She looks at me incredulously and somehow chuckles nervously through her tears.

"And I had never wanted to have kids…" Her face drops. "Because I've never met anyone who I wanted to have kids with. But I'm not opposed to the idea of having kids with you."

She tries hard to hold back more tears but her chin is trembling and her eyes water even more. At her silence I search for an answer on her face.

"None of my ex-husbands were happy about me being pregnant." She finally whispers and I understand now her hesitancy, her worry, her fear of the worst.

"I think they felt cornered. In John's case it was, I trapped him into marrying me, and we were so young we didn't know what we were doing. Sam just tolerated it. Now I just got scared… that you would be mad, or that you would leave me."

"I'm not. And I would never. Do you honestly think I would abandon you, or my kid?"

"No, I know. I'm sorry, you're right. I was just freaking out. I still am. This is not something that I planned, I promise you."

"We didn't plan it no. But we also didn't plan to get married and look how well that turned out." She smirks at me. "And just so you know, in case you didn't before, I love you and would love a child, our child, too." I pull her to me and we fall back into the mattress, me holding her close to me, my arm around her shoulders. She rests her head on my chest and drapes her arm around my stomach.

"Why you asked me earlier, during dinner, if I would take care of Norman?"

"Because if I am pregnant, and something happened to me during childbirth, I wanted to know you'd take care of Norman."

"God, you are so dramatic!"

"And you're just figuring that out?"

I press a kiss into her hair. "Umm, how late are you?"

"Eight weeks."

I count back in my head. "So, Florida, huh?"

"I guess so, yeah."

"It seems fitting too."

"How so?"

"The hurricane. You're a force of nature yourself. I can't think of a more perfect scenario."

"Shut up. It might just be a false alarm, you know?"

"We'll go first thing tomorrow morning and find out."

"You're going with me?" She exclaims a little surprised.

"Of course I am."

She kisses me and pulls me on top of her.

"Um Norma, do you think is safe to do this now?"

"I think it's a little late to be asking that."

We laugh together. She's right. And I do hope she's pregnant. Nothing would make me happier than a little blonde girl running around the house.

I called her a force of nature and she is. She came into this town like a hurricane, no, like a tornado without warning. I watched her from afar, the way you do a tornado, afraid of its intensity but drawn to its power. And then I got caught up in her winds, she swiftly picked me up and swallowed me whole. But instead of violently destroying me inside her strong columns of air, she breathed life into me.

* * *

We wake up very early. Take turns in the bathroom. Get dressed. Go down to the kitchen. She offers to make breakfast but my stomach is in knots. I don't want to eat anything right now. She makes toasts for herself and sits down to have them with her coffee. I drink mine too. Then we head out, together, and get in the SUV.

"How long it takes?" I ask her after a few minutes of sitting in the waiting room.

"The technician said the results should be ready in about an hour."

"I didn't know it was that fast."

"They're just reading hormone levels on my blood sample. I don't think that's too difficult to do." She says scrunching up her nose in the most adorable way.

After a while we hear her name being called.

"Mrs. Bates"

She goes to the counter, collects an envelope from the person seating behind it and motions for me to follow her outside.

"That's it? They didn't tell you anything."

"That's because I can read. And so do you." She mentions nonchalantly and I chuckle. "Where do you want to open this?"

"Uh, here?" I look around the sidewalk and shrug.

"Okay." She proceeds to unceremoniously open the envelope and I keep my eyes on her face as she reads. Then her whole face crumbles into a cry, and then a smile, and she hands me the papers. I scan my eyes over it quickly until I see the words: 'Pregnancy Test Results – Positive'.

I look at her, my own smile mirroring hers now.

"You're pregnant."

"That's what it says, yes."

I hug her, wrapping my arms tightly around her, and she does the same. She's crying into my shoulder now, probably wetting my work shirt too but I don't care. I caress her hair and close my eyes as I breathe in her scent and in the news we've just received.

"I'm sorry, your shirt."

"That's ok. Come on, let's go." I grab her hand and lead her back to the car.

I drive back to the house. She's been holding my hand the entire ride and with her other, the papers. We grin at each other every time I have to stop at a light. We arrive at the house and I park next to her car. She takes off her seatbelt and turns to look at me.

"What are we going to do now?" She asks.

"We're going to have a baby."

"I mean about money. There's the house, and now there will be my doctor's appointments and Norman's treatment and the hospital for the baby's birth. Right now the motel is not bringing in anything…"

"Shhh, Norma, don't worry. You still have the money I gave you and I have my savings. I was a bachelor living a very frugal life. I didn't have big splurges. I don't make a lot as a sheriff, but I do save, and I've been saving for a long time. And you, and Norman, and the baby will all be in my health insurance so you don't have to worry about that either. We'll be fine. I don't want you to worry about anything."

"I love you."

She leans over the seats division and kisses me softly placing her hands on both sides of my face.

"I love you too."

I can't help it and reach my hand to touch her belly. I smile looking at her still flat stomach and imagine how big she will get, and how much I will love it, knowing she's carrying my child inside her.

She places her hand on top of mine. "You should go to work now."

"I should. I'll see you later today."

"Yes. I'll be here."

She opens the door and gets out but before she leaves I have to ask her something.

"Norma?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like a boy or a girl?"

She smiles broadly.

"What do _you_ want?" She asks back.

"Me? I'd like a little girl. But if it's a boy I'll take it too."

She laughs.

"Well, you better. We won't be able to return it."

I nod at her. I like her amused expression.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Boy or girl?"

"I like boys. Maybe because that's the only thing I've known." She ponders her next answer a little. "I want a healthy child that looks like you." She finishes triumphantly.

I don't have a better reply to that so I let her go. She closes the door and starts walking up the big steps towards the house. I look at her and think I also won't mind if it's a boy or a girl, a healthy child too, but in one thing we're not in agreement. I want the kid to look like her.

* * *

Arriving home after the day's work I find Norma reclining on the sofa and many of the Christmas decorations already taken down. The living room is looking a little messy, something that is a very uncommon sight at the Bates house.

"Hi. How are you feeling?" I go over to the sofa, sit down in the little space she makes moving to the side, and kiss her hello.

"Fine. Just got a little dizzy and had to stop for a while." She gestures towards the mess around her.

"I'll help you. You don't have to take all this down by yourself."

"Okay." She grins.

"I don't want you to overdo it."

"Alex, I'm pregnant not sick." She raises an eyebrow for emphasis.

"Okay, but I still get to take care of you." I peck her lips once more and she smiles.

"I can't believe I'll have a child that's 20 years in age apart from my other two sons." She then says with a sigh.

"I know this wasn't planned, but are you happy?"

"Yes, I'm very happy. I'm a little anxious that's all. You?"

"Ecstatic." We both grin widely. "Did you make the doctor's appointment?"

"Yes, it's for next Thursday at 11."

"Great, I'll get out of work and meet you there."

"You're going?"

"I'm planning on going to every one of your doctor's appointments, if that's ok with you?"

"Yes! Again, this would be a first for me, but yes, I'd love to have you there."

"Ok, it's settled then."

"Do you remember what you told me the day we got married?" She asks and I'm not sure which one of the many things I said that day she's referring to. "That it was not forever." She clarifies.

"Yeah, but I was trying to not let you know I wished it was."

"Well, you turned out to be a pretty good roommate so I think I'll keep you around."

"I'm glad." I laugh and she joins in.

"I didn't mention it before, but your wedding ring has an inscription on the inside. Have you seen it?"

"No, I haven't taken it off since you gave it to me." I take the ring off my finger and read the inside of it. 'Forever. All my love, Norma.'

"So we're in this forever, huh?" I tell her putting my ring back on my finger.

"Yeah, I think so."

"And kid here?" I say touching her belly.

"Kid is stuck with us forever too."

We laugh. I look at her and she looks happy and radiant. I move my head down, until my nose is very close to hers, and give her an Eskimo kiss. Then we lock lips and kiss softly and invitingly, until her phone rings. Norma reaches for it, answers it and stops smiling.

"Dylan? What is it? What's wrong?"

* * *

TBC…


	15. Unforeseen Event

**A/N: Thank you so much to the guest review that mentioned this story being healing to the fandom. That moved me a lot and I just want to tell you all that I write these stories as a form of therapy for myself too. I loved and love Normero so much, and I miss Norma so much, I just can't let them go. I need to see them together and happy, so, I'm glad you are enjoying it and remember I need this as much as you do. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Norma and I arrive at the hospital in Seattle. As soon as she hung up the phone she wanted to go and since it's a long drive I decided to go with her. Dylan and Emma's dad are in the waiting room, where they've been probably waiting around for hours already.

"Dylan." Norma calls his name as soon as she sees him and he stands up and hurries to hug her.

"You came. You didn't have to come all the way here."

"Of course I did. You know how much I love Emma and I wanted to be here for you."

"Hi, Will." I greet Mr. Decody.

"Sheriff. Mrs. Bates." He shakes my hand and nods at Norma, his face a mask of worry and sadness.

"Thanks for being here." He says genuinely.

"How is she?" Norma asks.

"She's got an infection. She's on antibiotics and on full oxygen to help her breathe, so she doesn't have to push her lungs too much. Doctor said the next 48 hours are critical." Dylan answers.

"I'm so sorry, honey." They hug each other briefly again.

"Yes, me too."

"Dylan is such a good man." Will states in his dry way of speaking. "I'm glad Emma and he got to meet. You raised really good sons, Mrs. Bates." He mentions to her and Norma is taken by surprise. I can tell she's conflicted about hearing him gush about her two sons, since he doesn't know everything Norman, or even Dylan, have done that does not qualify for the 'good' adjective. But I'm not one to talk about. I've done my fair share of bad things too.

"Oh, thank you. Yes, they're very good boys, both of them." She's not about to contradict him anyway.

"She got her lung transplant because of Dylan and I'm grateful for it, even if it only gave her a couple more months."

"I'm sure she'll be fine." I chime in even though I have no idea if this is true or not but I feel I should say something positive.

Will excuses himself to go buy coffee. We move to sit down and Dylan sits next to Norma.

"What's up with Emma's dad saying she got her transplant because of you?"

"Uh, I just gave them some money to help pay for the hospital. You don't want to know where it came from."

Norma raises her eyebrow in mild disapproval at him.

"What if she dies?" Dylan asks suddenly.

I look over to Norma and thankfully she has something to answer to that. "Oh, sweetie, don't say things like that. This is a very good hospital and Emma is a very strong girl."

"We… had talked about getting married, you know, when she finished college. I know we're young, but we love each other, and what if time is running out for her?"

"Well, we don't know that, do we? We never do." She touches his hair and keeps his hand in between hers.

"You were very sick once when you were a little boy." Norma adds, maybe trying to take his mind off worrying about Emma for a bit.

"I was? When?"

"When you were three years old. You got the measles, and pneumonia. You were in the hospital for five days." I look at her; she's deep in thought, like reaching into her brain for the memory.

"I don't remember that."

"Of course you don't. You were so little. You were a baby once, you know? I nursed you, took care of you, and worried about you. By the time you were 10 we were already fighting each other about everything but… you were my little boy too."

They exchange a look full of meaning and Dylan nods; mother and son, always trying to mend the broken pieces of their past relationship.

"The point is I thought you were gonna die. And then you didn't." She smiles at him.

"I remember you taking care of me once when I was sick. You were… putting some lotion on my skin because it was very itchy?"

"That's when you got the chicken pox. You were about nine and Norman got them too. It was a crazy two weeks at the house during that time!"

"Do you remember that time I cut my knee pretty badly?"

"Yes, of course. You wouldn't even let me take a look at it. I wanted to take you to the hospital but you didn't want to go. I was sure you needed stitches, there was so much blood but you didn't even cry. Always so brave. I had to patch you up myself. Don't think I did a very good job at it."

"Yeah, I still have the scar. But it did stop the bleeding."

I listen to them reminisce for a while. Stories of Dylan being a bad ass ever since when he was a kid; it's not hard imagining him being that way, the young man is not afraid of anything. That's one of the reasons I trusted him since I met him. Their memories also picture a mother devoted to her eldest son. That is also not so hard to imagine. I can see in my mind a younger Norma, running around two small and unruly boys, and I try to visualize myself doing that same thing soon. I hope I will be a good dad. I want to resemble Norma and my own mother in their love and dedication, and not my father in his disdain and lack of affection. I will be a good dad to my son or daughter. I promised myself that a long time ago, when the prospect of having children was not even on my future. Now that it is imminent I will do my best to fulfill my promise.

I wonder how I'll react when someone inevitably hurts my kid. I will want to beat the crap out of whomever does it much to Norma's protests I'm sure. She'll want me to teach the kid not to be violent. How will I react if my kid ever gets sick like Emma? I'm glad Norma will be there and I won't be dealing with any of these things by myself.

Will Decody comes back with coffee for all of us and takes me out of my reverie. Norma thanks him but says she doesn't want to drink coffee now or she will never be able to sleep later. We sit waiting for the doctor to give us any update on Emma.

Hours pass. We make small talk. Norma goes to the bathroom and we men talk men stuff for a while. She comes back with a few magazines, some cookies and a bottle of water. "Gift shop was open." She reports as if she scored some major prize.

By midnight, Norma has fallen asleep on my shoulder. I wake her up when the doctor comes at that time and informs us Emma is still delicate, but they will know more tomorrow, when a full 24 hours of antibiotics have done their job.

Will looks a little more relaxed, or maybe is tiredness, and excuses himself for a moment.

"Norma, we should go. We can come back tomorrow. Let's get a motel room. I'm worried you're not getting enough rest and sleep like you should."

"Why? It's something wrong?" Dylan quickly asks.

"No, it's nothing. This is not the moment. I'll tell you later." She tries to assuage his fears.

"What is it? Are you sick? You better tell me now, Norma. Romero?" He looks at her, then at me.

"No, I'm not sick." There's a pause. "I'm pregnant." She finally announces and we both wait for his reaction. It feels like an eternity before he says anything but then he does.

"Are you happy about it?" He asks unsure.

"Yes! Yes, we both are." Norma exclaims and looks at me. I place my arm around her waist and smile at both of them.

"We definitely are." I comment. His mouth turns into a knowing smile and he shakes his head from side to side.

"I guess then… Congratulations!" He offers and Norma's face lights up. She takes a few steps towards him and gives him a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, Dylan."

"Here, take the key to my place. You can spend the night there. I'll text you the address." He gives her a key.

"No, don't worry. We can go someplace else."

"Where are you spending the night?" I ask him.

"I'll be here the whole night. You're right; Norma should get a good night's sleep. Really, it's the least I can do after you both drove all the way here."

"Okay, thanks."

"Thank you for being here and… for getting my mother pregnant." He says with a teasing glint in his eye.

"Dylan!" Norma almost shouts and we both laugh at seeing her shocked face, all red in embarrassment.

"Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow."

We say our goodbyes. Once in the car she gets a text message from Dylan and reads it aloud to me: 'Thanks for the stories about when I was little… I love you, mom." She starts crying softly.

"These hormones." She sniffles softly while wiping away her tears but I don't think it's only the hormones that are making her cry.

* * *

Emma spent a week in the hospital. Norma had decided she wanted to stay there with Dylan and I went back to work. I drove back a couple of days after to pick her up and that day we both saw the young patient, already doing better, although still pale and weak. She was very happy about the news of Norma's pregnancy. Dylan told her while we were there and she smiled profusely at us and promised to babysit anytime.

"What did I do to deserve you?" Norma had asked unexpectedly while I was driving us back to White Pine Bay that evening. At my questioning look she clarified. "You're driving back and forth just to that I could be with Dylan and Emma."

"Well, I know that's what you wanted to do. And also, I actually had something to check nearby, an important lead from a case at work, so the trip served a double purpose."

"Oh. Well, I still think you're the best husband in the world and that I don't deserve you, so thanks."

"You do deserve me. We're perfect for each other." She grinned at my words. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Just some nausea and a little tiredness, but both my previous pregnancies were like that." She said while rubbing her stomach a little. "I'm so happy Emma is doing better. Dylan is so relieved, he really loves that girl." She mentioned.

"She's a nice girl."

"Yes. She is so happy about our baby news! I'm so glad Dylan is too." She paused and there was a moment of silence. There was only Norman left to tell.

* * *

A few days after being back at White Pine Bay Dylan called to announce to Norma him and Emma were getting married. So it's no surprise that today, when I arrive home, I find Norma in front of her mirror trying on dresses.

"What are you doing?" I ask the obvious as I come up behind her and kiss her cheek and neck.

"Trying to find a dress that fits me. The wedding is in a couple of weeks and I don't know what to wear!" She sounds frustrated. I take a look around the room and see the many dresses; colorful and floral patterns, some in solid colors, strewn around. "Ugh, this one won't fit me around the waist anymore." She says dramatically dropping her hand from her waist and looking displeasingly at the half buttoned dress.

"You're barely showing yet."

"Yes, but my dresses know and they're conspiring into not fitting me."

I chuckle. "Go buy a new dress. You're the mother of the groom. I'm sure we can spend some money on a dress for such an occasion."

She looks at me on the mirror reflection. Her eyes watering rapidly. "You can't go around saying things like that. It makes me emotional. This pregnancy has me crying at the vegetables while I'm cooking them!"

"I wonder what else I don't know about pregnant women."

"Umm let's see… How big I'll get. I'll look like a whale."

"You could never look like a whale and if you do, you'll be the most beautiful whale."

"Did you just call me a whale?"

"No! Gosh, Norma. You said it, not me!"

"I'm kidding." She smiles devilishly. "You know what else you should know about pregnancy effects?"

"What?"

"A pregnant woman experiences an increase in her sex drive."

"Ah, is that right?"

"Yes, and you mentioning I should buy a new dress also put me in the mood. You better keep up with me." She turns around and kisses me.

I have every intention of keeping up with her.

* * *

"Dylan called." She mentions while we're setting the table for our dinner the next day. "He wanted to let us know he invited Caleb to the wedding."

"And?"

"Well, he wanted to know if I was okay with it. I said yes, of course I am. And I promised him you wouldn't beat Caleb up at the church."

"Of course I won't. I already beat him up. It's his wedding and it's his father. I don't have a problem with Dylan inviting him. My problem is your brother bothering you. "

"I know. But that won't happen."

"Did you find a dress?"

"Yes, a very beautiful dress. It's dark purple and I love it. I'll show it to you later."

"Good."

* * *

After dinner I put on the new dress to show it to Alex and look at myself in the mirror.

"Of course I'll have my hair done and makeup on." I move my hair away from my face. Mother of the groom. I think to myself. My God. I'm only 42 years old and I have a son who's getting married.

"You look perfect just now."

I look back at him and he's admiring me like I'm the most beautiful thing in the room. I smile at the thought. Turn my back to him so he can unzip me and then I hang the dress back in the closet.

"You know what I want?" I ask as I turn around and walk closer to him. "I want desert." It's funny how we sometimes use that code name for referring to that particular activity of our sex life but he did it once and it stuck. His face lights up and I start undoing the buttons of his shirt and then his belt and fly. After he's only wearing his underwear I push him to the bed where he goes willingly.

I hover over him on my hands and knees and start kissing him; my lips slowly moving over his and then working my way down his chest, caressing and touching him. I sit back on his thighs and look down at him; his muscled chest, his biceps flexing as his hands reach out to caress my thighs and hips. I keep kissing down a path from his belly button to his lower belly, to the waistband of his boxers. I can already feel him straining against the layer of clothing and I touch his arousal through the fabric, gaining a tiny lift of his hips in response.

I love how he tries not to move, expectantly waiting for me. I release him from his underwear, and kneel down in between his legs. Looking at him, as always, I find him beautiful. Who knew all this manly beauty was hiding behind those uniforms? I remember the first time I saw him naked and my pleasant surprise when I found out my new husband was muscular and strong; tanned skin like forest wood. I bend down and place an open mouth kiss on his hardness, then lick him all the way from the bottom to the tip. I do this a few times, my hands on his hips, and his touching my hair.

I pump him up and down, my thumb spreading the drops of liquid I find at the tip, never stopping the motion of my hand or my lips on him. By the time I take him fully into my mouth he's panting and gasping. I kiss and lick and suck, swirling my tongue around the tip until he's begging me to stop.

"Ah, baby, please. Norma, I want to be inside you when I come, please." He repeats as a mantra and with a final long suck I release him. He's taking deep huge breaths and looking at me with adoration. I rise up and take off my panties, leaving my slip on, and I straddle him. He releases a long sigh when my wetness makes contact with his hard length, as I rub myself on him a few times, not yet letting him in. I almost come just from the friction we're creating, but I hold off.

"Norma, please, baby…" He pleads and buries his fingers on the skin of my hips. I take pity on him, finally guiding him slowly deep inside me. I take off my slip, pulling it off over my head, and take off my bra, earning a wide eye appreciative look from him. His hands reach for my breasts, teasing my sensitive nipples. I move up and down and back and forth a few times and that's all it takes and I'm flying. "Alex, Alex…" is the only thing I'm conscious of saying. After all my senses come back to me I notice I've fallen on top of him, and he is gently rubbing my back up and down. Then he moves his legs and hips, finding a position that will give him leverage, pushing into me a few times until he also finds his sweet release.

* * *

My son is getting married today. We made it to Seattle and the day is cold but bright. The blue skies and white clouds the perfect backdrop for a beautiful early February morning. It is a small wedding. Nothing fancy, just a church decorated with pink and purple flowers, Emma's favorite colors.

I sit next to Alex on the pew in the front row and wipe my tears as I watch Dylan waiting for Emma to make her entrance. Then I cry some more when she enters the church in her gorgeous delicate white simple dress. When they say their 'I do's' my tissue is already completely soaked and Alex has to give me his handkerchief so I can keep drying my face.

Alex gives Dylan the ring when the minister asks for it. He is basically the unofficial best man. Emma's maid of honor is a girl she met at the Seattle hospital who is a transplant patient too, and they have become good friends ever since, but Dylan had no one else. They both said they didn't have friends or anyone closer that could fulfill the best man duties, and I sadly thought of Norman, how in other circumstances, could've been his brother's best man. But Dylan asked Alex and he said yes. So I have to sit by myself for a while, crying my happy mom tears, as my husband attends to his formal duties at my son's wedding.

As we take the professional photographs I proudly stand next to my handsome husband, my beautiful son and his lovely bride. Dylan also asks for a family picture with Caleb who was sitting in the next row behind us.

"One with my uncle." He instructs the photographer and gestures for Caleb to come closer. He shyly stands next to Emma, while I stay on Dylan's side. As we start to get ready to leave the church he comes closer to us.

"Hi, Norma Louise."

"Hello, Caleb. How are you?"

"Good, good. You look nice."

"Thanks."

"Sheriff." He turns towards Alex who nods politely but soberly at him.

"Wow. So Dylan got married, huh?"

"He did."

"I guess the grandkids will be next."

"Or maybe we beat them to it." Alex chimes in, helping me put on my coat. At Caleb's confused look I smile inwardly at Alex's tactic. But even as it is a territorial one, it doesn't come from jealousy or a need to show off but from his desire for protection and letting anyone know, including my brother, that I'm his family to protect.

"I'm pregnant."

"Oh… wow! That's great, Norma Louise… congrats… to both of you."

"Thanks." We say in unison.

"Shall we go?" Alex asks me.

"Yes." I take his hand. "Caleb, do you have a car? You can ride with us if you want to."

"No, thanks. I have my truck outside, see you there."

"Okay."

Nothing dramatic happened at the ceremony; no fighting, no one fainted, nobody shot anyone. We were just a normal family attending a beautiful wedding.

There is no big party afterward. What doubles as the reception is a lunch at a restaurant with a lovely indoor patio, with just the few of us in attendance. Dylan and Emma had decided they didn't want to spend a lot of money on a wedding. The private small section of the restaurant is decorated with the church flowers and there is music softly playing on the background, and good food and laughter. On a corner table is the small wedding cake Alex and I bought them as a gift.

Will Decody gives a toast for the newly married couple and even though I can't drink the bubbly I raise my glass to the happiness of dear Emma and my firstborn.

"What are you thinking about?" Alex whispers in my ear as I intently watch the radiant couple slow dancing in the small dancing area.

"Oh! About how pretty Emma is and how handsome my son looks in his tux."

"You're still the most beautiful woman in the room."

I move my gaze from the newlyweds to my husband. "You do look very handsome yourself."

"You want to dance?"

"Not right now, maybe later?"

"This cake is really good too." He says while taking a bite from the piece of cake in front of us and I laugh. He then feeds me a forkful of cake. He smiles as I lick a bit of frosting from my lip.

"You need to get the recipe."

"Why? You're not satisfied with all the cakes and pies I've baked in the last four months since you married me?"

"I am. But we never got a wedding cake." He comments seriously now. I look at him and I love him even more at this moment. Only he would think of our own out of convenience, fake, no cake included wedding day.

I think about how strange life is. How resilient we all are. There are so many unforeseen events that could break us along the way. Betrayals, deaths, violence, sickness. I think of all the people in this room right now and how we've all had experienced our share of them. I look at Emma and think about the fragility of her life and her health before and how she has gotten better, celebrating today her choice to get married and live her life.

I think of Dylan, the son that arrived unwanted, but who is the most beautiful thing that could've come out of an event as horrible as that. Norman, the son I always saw as my second chance at motherhood, the perfect desired child, and who almost destroyed it all. Alex, the beam of light in my darkest days, the lighthouse that's keeping my ship from getting lost at sea.

Things have happened that gotten us down, threatened to destroy us, but we kept going. Life is hard, and fragile, but also unexpected and unyielding. I've been lucky, I found love and another chance, and life keeps happening and growing, against all odds. I place my hand on my abdomen. I take a look at my happy son. I lean into my husband.

"I'll make a wedding cake just for us when we're back home." I promise to him and I feel him kiss my temple and take my hand.

"Come on, let's dance."

* * *

TBC…


	16. Natural Disaster

**A/N: I like writing the Regina character in my story because I love to hate her. I love her bitchy disdain towards Norma but I also think she's really funny while ignoring/'hating' on Norma. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this longish slightly angst-y chapter. Thank you so much for the reviews!**

* * *

"What are you doing?" I ask as I come into the bedroom finishing drying off and see her sitting on the bed, her eyes looking intently at the screen of her laptop.

"Choosing one wedding picture of Dylan and Emma to print, but they're all so pretty I can't decide. Emma sent me so many!"

I smile at her love for pictures.

"Have you thought about what I told you?" I mention while I put on my uniform. "You know, she'll be happy to come and help you, now that she only goes to my old house once a month since I'm never there."

"Alex, I told you I don't need help."

"I insist. She can help you clean the house, or whatever else you need."

"I have been pregnant before, you know?" She stops looking at her computer. "During both pregnancies I did all the cleaning, the cooking, the laundry, and the second time I did it with a little boy around too." She sounds pleased with herself.

"But now I want you to have help. I know you like doing things for yourself but just meet her, and if you like her, she can come once or twice a month, or as often as you want. You're here all day by yourself; at least you'll have company for a few hours, especially when you get bigger. Let me do this for you, I'll feel better."

"Ok, fine. You can bring in your cleaning lady." She concedes and I go over to her and place a soft kiss on her smiling lips.

"Thanks. I'm leaving for work now."

Just as I'm heading down the stairs I hear her yell from the bedroom.

"She better not be pretty!" I shake my head. Yeah, Lucinda is pretty, but also an older lovely woman. She kept my bachelor house clean all these years and has a very high code of cleanliness and order which I'm sure Norma will love. I know they'll get along fine.

* * *

"Alex, please call me as soon as you hear this." I try not to sound too annoyed or too alarmed as I leave the voice message but it's getting late and I haven't heard from him all day. I made dinner but it is sitting untouched on the stove. I can't even eat without knowing where he is.

I pace around the living room for what feels like hours and maybe it has been. I've left I don't know how many messages for him already and the last time I called the station the idiot who answered the phone had no idea where he was either.

I can't wait around anymore. It's almost midnight and I need to know what's happening. I get in my car and drive to the station.

"Hi. I'm looking for Alex Romero." I ask the first officer I see upon entering the reception area. He doesn't look familiar.

"The sheriff? He's not in right now. Uh, I don't know where he is."

"Well, I need to talk to somebody who knows where he is."

"Can I help you with anything, Mrs…?"

"Mrs. Bates. Yes, you can help me locating my husband, Alex Romero." I'm already losing my patience.

"Oh! Are you the sheriff's wife?" The young officer stands up.

"Yes! How many wives do you think he has?"

Just as I'm about to throw a fit an older officer I recognize, Mr. Sullivan, opens the back door and nods at me. "Mrs. Romero. I'm glad you're here." He says and then directs his gaze to officer Mr. Doesn't Know Anything. "Smith, let her in." He buzzes the door open.

"Hi. I'm looking for Alex, it's late and I haven't heard from him all day." I feel his hand on my arm, guiding me to walk next to him.

"Mrs. Romero. I don't want you to worry but…" He says while ushering me to Alex's office.

"What? Has something happened?"

"Uh, no, we're not sure. But the sheriff and his unit left for a big operation this afternoon and they have not made contact."

"What do you mean they haven't made contact?"

"That we haven't heard from any of them, yet. We're looking, canvasing the area, but so far, we haven't found anything."

I hear the words and I feel like my world is getting smaller and darker. The ground is slipping from under me and I close my eyes. Only when I feel his hands on my upper arms holding me up and hear him speaking loudly at me do I realize I almost fainted.

"Mrs. Romero! Here, sit down. Smith! Get me a glass of water!"

I drink the water and only then I realize there is a lot of buzzing around in the back of the station. That's why there was only one person at reception; everybody else seems to be busy with something else in the back. I look around, and wait for I don't know how long, but can't feel the strength to stand up, or to cry or to do anything else. I hear just one phrase in my brain; 'haven't heard from any of them.'

"Mrs. Romero. I think is best if you go home and wait there. I'm going to have one of the deputies escort you and also wait outside your house until the sheriff comes back." He talks to me but I don't understand anything.

"Why?"

"Because you're the sheriff's wife and it's late and I'd like to know you're safe."

"Oh." Then I hear a female voice and I look up to see Regina.

"Um, I called Regina. I thought you might like some company?" He explains and leaves us alone. I look at her and her casual attire.

"You were already home. It's so late, why did they call you?"

She rolls her eyes and sits down on the chair next to mine. "Between you and me, Sullivan is a very nice man but he is not very good at dealing with people's emotions. Give him a gun, he's fine; give him a nervous woman, he's not. When he called me he told me you almost fainted and I guess he thinks since we're both women we can deal with each other. I didn't want to tell him no because I know he's under a lot of stress right now. I understand the sheriff and the unit have not come back yet?"

"Yeah, that's what they told me." I look her in the eyes before asking. "Has this ever happened before?"

"A unit going radio silence? I think so, yes."

"I know this is a dangerous job. I just… I've never had to wait for him to come home without knowing where he was before. It's scary."

"Do you want a cup of tea?" She offers and I nod.

She comes back handing me the mug. I smell and drink the comforting hot drink but even as it is warming my hands I still feel cold. I also have the terrible urge to throw up. It starts in the pit of my stomach, the fear; then it goes up to my heart, the desperation of not knowing where Alex is; and then my throat, where I feel everything coming up at once. I run to the bathroom.

After I've flushed the toilet and go to wash my mouth and face; I realize Regina followed me here.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just on edge. Also… um… I'm pregnant so… the nausea has become somewhat normal lately and tonight's stress is not helping."

"Oh! Congratulations. I'm sure Alex is very happy." She sounds sincere.

"He is." A big gasp comes out of my mouth before I can stop it and then I'm crying, sobbing into my paper napkin, holding myself up against the sink. "I need to know he's okay. I need him back."

She puts her hand on my arm, gently squeezing it in a reassuring gesture.

"I'm sure he's fine. He's a pretty tough guy. I've never seen him back down at anything or anyone since I've been working here. And he's smiling a lot more now, since he married you, so I'm guessing he wants to come home too."

I smile at her through my tears. Then we hear a knock on the bathroom's door. Regina goes to open it and a male officer's voice comes from the vicinity of the door.

"Hi, Regina. Is Mrs. Romero there? Can you tell her I'm ready to escort her to her house whenever she is?"

I look at my watch. It's past 1am. I've been here for more than an hour but I don't know where time has gone. I walk on my unsteady legs back to Alex's office to retrieve my purse and my coat.

"Um, thank you." I say as I turn to face Regina who again followed me.

"No problem." She nods and closes the door after me.

* * *

Back home I can't sleep. Instead I'm walking in circles around the living room; then to the kitchen where I've already put all the uneaten food in the fridge, and back to the living room. I made more tea and forced myself to eat some crackers. I look outside the window, where my car and the patrol car are parked outside. I can see the outlines of the two officers that escorted me, one of them lighting a cigarette, reclining on the SUV, ready to spend the rest of the night keeping watch outside my house.

I sit on the sofa and think about all the reasons something bad could've happened to him. What if it has something to do with Bob Paris' death and the people who worked for him? Or somebody that knows what Alex did? I remember the house break-in. He never told me who was responsible for it, but I suspect now it was that Rebecca woman. I'm not stupid, I know she and Alex had something going on before, and she may be jealous but she can't be involved in whatever's happening tonight, can she? Then there's the drug business and all the people angry at Alex for shutting it down. Oh God, I've never hated Alex's job like I do now.

I also remember when he got shot a few months back. That seems like ages ago. He said that was Bob Paris' doing too. At the moment I acted like I didn't care. Yes I felt bad he got hurt, but I had bigger problems then, problems of my own. But now… what am I going to do if he's hurt? I'm not sure I can live without him.

Wrapping a blanket around me, trying to get warm but the cold I'm feeling is coming from inside me and all I want are his arms around me. The sun is already coming up outside and my eyelids feel heavy.

* * *

I'm woken up by sounds of sirens and people talking loudly in the distance; I quickly go over to the window and look outside to see more patrol cars and more officers. My heart sinks to the ground. Why there are so many people on my front yard?

I look down at my watch and see it's almost noon. I managed to sleep a few hours. I open the front door and step into the balcony. I gasp out loud when I see him. He's still far away but I can recognize his frame anywhere. Alex! I start running down the steps of the balcony and into the soft ground and when I reach the concrete stairs I yell his name. "Alex!"

He looks up and starts coming up the stairs and I keep running towards him. He meets me halfway.

* * *

As soon as I see her I confirm my fears. I knew she's be scared, her face and demeanor telling me she's been worried beyond belief. I feel so guilty about it already. Leaving the other officers behind I start sprinting up the stairs towards her. She yelled my name and she's running, her skirt a blur of dark blue fabric against her pale and strong legs.

By the time I reach her, halfway on the stairs, she hugs me so strongly the air is forced out of my lungs from the impact of her crashing into me.

"Alex! Ohmygod! You're okay… I was worried sick! Where the hell have you been?" She yells in a rush of words and then she is crying into my shoulder. I can feel her hot breath on my neck.

"I'm so sorry, Norma. I couldn't call, the cell phones were out of range, we were deep in the woods…" I start to explain and then she pulls her head back to look at my face, her eyes searching mine. Hers shine with tears but also a glint of relief.

Then she takes in the state of my shirt under my jacket, and the blood on it and her face crumbles into a frightened expression again. She's moving my jacket away, roaming her hands over my chest, undoubtedly looking for cuts or a wound.

"It's not mine." I reassure her. "The blood is not mine."

She stops the movement of her hands over my chest and then gives me a long and searing kiss that I'm too happy to reciprocate. We end the kiss and I'm suddenly aware that my deputies are around us. I take a chance and glance at them and some of them are smiling, others look uncomfortable, probably in shock at seeing their stoic boss engaged in such a public display of affection but I don't care. I'm not ashamed to show my love for her and I'm sure as hell not ashamed she is expressing her feelings for me in front of everybody here.

"You don't have your coat on, it's freezing out here, let's go inside." I tell her quickly when I feel her tremble in my arms, from cold or emotion I'm not sure, but I don't want her to be exposed to the elements. I look back to the officers, and gesture for them to wait until I'm back.

Once inside, I carry her up the stairwell, not because she's fragile or weak but because I missed touching her and because I want to. I slowly make my way to our bedroom and gently deposit her on the bed.

"Alex, what happened?"

"We were on an operation. Things got out of control, had to leave the cars behind; there was a shooting and one of my deputies got hurt. It was crazy. I'm sorry I couldn't call you. By the time we got out it was already dawn. We had to deal with putting bad guys in jail and taking the hurt ones to the hospital. I had to leave my SUV behind because it lost two tires. I asked them to drive me here right away. Oh! They're still down there! I'll be right back." She reaches for my hand.

"Please don't go."

"I'll be back in five minutes, I promise." I kiss her hand and head outside to tell my men and women they can go.

She's sitting on the bed when I come back.

"Where's your shirt?"

"Left it in the laundry room. I'll wash it later; don't want you dealing with that." I saw how upset it made her to look at the blood and probably thinking it was mine.

I sit opposite her. She reaches for my black t-shirt, taking it off, and then she's lightly touching my skin, her hands roaming over my chest, shoulders and arms still looking for wounds that aren't there. She then moves forward and kisses the old wound on the left side of my chest, right above my heart; the threat Bob Paris sent my way. Then I hear her softly sniffling.

"You're alive." She whispers.

Just as I was about to apologize again she crushes her lips to mine. She kisses me with a desperation I was not expecting but it is not unwelcome. In fact, I missed her too, so I return her kiss with the same eagerness. She maneuvers me on top of her, never breaking the kiss, and I feel her hands already working on my zip and fly.

"Norma, baby, I'm all dirty…" I half-heartedly protest before I lose the use of my brain cells at the touch of her hands and the feel of her lips.

"I don't care. I want you now." She murmurs breathlessly.

I stop trying to stop her. In fact, I help her get rid of her clothes too. We crash into each other fast and hard; clinging to each other like we're starved. Her cries of pleasure are filling the room and my own groans are being muffled against her hair. We finish quickly too and we flop gracelessly next to each other, trying to regain our breaths.

"I'm still mad at you for scaring the hell out of me." She puffs after a minute and I look to the side to find her beautiful face marked by an adorable frown.

"Okay."

"I hate that I was afraid for your safety, I hated the town, and I hated your job. If something happened to you… I couldn't deal with it."

"I'm sorry. You know my job is dangerous sometimes. It's the hazards of being married to the sheriff."

"I know. But promise me you'll take care of yourself. Promise me you'll always do your best to come home to me. To us."

"I promise." At seeing her smile I lean over to kiss her lightly on the lips.

"Okay." She ends the kiss and rises from the bed covering herself with her robe. "Go ahead and take a shower while I heat the food. You must be starving and so am I. I didn't have dinner yesterday or breakfast today."

"You didn't?" I say as I put on my boxers. "But you know you shouldn't skip meals."

"I couldn't eat, okay? I went to the station and threw up there. My nerves were shot. I only had tea and some crackers at like 3am and then fell asleep on the sofa which is why I'm heating yesterday's dinner now so we can eat it. Go on." She ushers me out of the room.

I'm finishing a very much needed and appreciated hot shower when I feel the curtain moved to the side and look back to see Norma stepping in the tub with me.

"Don't get too excited, I'm not here for sex." She snaps quickly. "I slept in my clothes yesterday. I need a shower too."

I move around so she can step under the water and help her get soaped up. I wash her back and then wrap my arms around her waist feeling the slight swell of her lower abdomen.

"You're showing a little bit already. Am I right?"

"Yeah." She agrees, smiling down at our intertwined hands resting on her small belly. We finish washing her front and I pay special attention to her breasts but she slaps my hands away playfully. "I said no sex." I laugh.

I get out of the tub first, get dressed in the bedroom and go downstairs to the kitchen. After a few minutes she comes in. I have set the table and she fills our plates with good smelling food and my stomach growls.

"Are you going back to work today?"

"No. I worked all night. I told them to call me if they needed me."

We settle in easy conversation while we eat. A question has been on my mind lately, more so after our shared shower, so I ask her.

"Have you thought of when are you telling Norman? You haven't been there in a few weeks. If we wait more, the next time you visit him he'll know as soon as he sees you."

She sighs deeply. "Uh, I don't know. I thought of going soon. I'll call Dr. Edwards and ask if he thinks it's a good idea." She mentions as an afterthought and keeps eating.

"Alex, please. Stop staring at me. I know I have to tell him, it's not something I can keep a secret for a long time. Now let's just eat."

* * *

We didn't talk more last night about Norman but today Norma called me and said she needed to see me. As I'm heading out of the office to have lunch with her, Regina stops me at the door.

"She was really worried the other night, your wife. She really loves you." She tells me before I head out. Norma swears Regina doesn't like her so her recount of that night's events left me a little surprised. Regina's words also surprise me. Maybe they've finally reached a truce I don't know about?

"She told me everything that happened. Thank you for being here for her. I really appreciate it." She nods at my words.

"And congratulations on the baby."

"Thank you." I can't help the grin that stretches across my face.

Norma and I go to the restaurant overlooking the park. We order our food and then she speaks.

"I talked to Dr. Edwards this morning." She announces and looks at me with wide expectant eyes, like she is waiting for me to say something, but she keeps talking. "He said is best for Norman to learn about outside life events the sooner the better so he's able to process and accept them. And that if I don't tell him now, he will find out eventually, and it could be worse for him."

"Okay. So, when do you want us to go?"

She gives me that look she gives me every time I say or do something she is not expecting. Her eyes shine with sudden tears.

"Can we go tomorrow?"

"Yes." We finish our lunch and head out.

"Do you think I'll be a good dad?" I ask her while we walk across the park back towards the station. The restaurant is close and she left her car there.

"Of course you will!"

"But I don't have any experience like you do, and you're such a good mother."

"Well, I haven't been a perfect mother either. I ignored Dylan and was scared to get Norman the help he needed and I almost lost both of them because of it."

"But you loved them. You did what you thought was right."

"I think you'll be a great dad. You will be protecting and loving. That's all that matters." She kisses me and we enjoy the rest of our walk.

* * *

It was a natural disaster waiting to happen. I went with Norma to visit Norman and break him the news; there was never a question of letting her go alone. She was nervous and also excited to see him after a few weeks but her hopes for a happy meeting were never meant to become a reality. Maybe deep inside she knew it too.

He was first rude to both of us. Then he cried and screamed. He said she now had a new family and she would forget about him. She tried to rationalize with him to no avail. He became angrier and she became more and more pleading, her voice breaking but never crying.

"I love you Norman. I can't love you any more than I already do."

"I wasn't enough for you! Or you would've never gotten a husband and now… another child!"

"My heart is big enough to love you all. You need to understand that."

"Go away, Mother!"

"I will never give up on you. You know that. I'll keep coming. And you'll get better and you will come home again someday."

"I don't want to! You're going to love it more than you loved me!" He gritted his teeth while pointing angrily at her stomach.

"Stop. I've protected you all your life; I love you more than I've ever loved anybody, but I will protect and love this child too." She touched her lower belly in a maternal gesture and that seemed to be the final straw for Norman. He screamed louder and toppled a chair over. A nurse came to take him. They told us he needed a sedative, which we knew he was given daily, because his outbursts were also a daily thing.

I never moved an inch away from her; ready to stop him if he tried anything and I know that made him angrier too. She told him she loved him over and over and over again. She tried to touch him, to hug him, but he screamed at her to leave him alone. Two nurses took him away.

Once outside I take a deep breath of fresh air, mentally willing Norma to do the same. I know this couldn't have been easy for her.

Suddenly she stops walking, and when I look at her face her eyes are filled with unshed tears, her lower lip trembling. I wrap her in my arms and she cries on my shoulder. I gently stroke her hair and her back in a soothing way. She's not crying desperately, but in a very sad and resigned way.

"He was my whole life." Her voice is a broken whisper, her face buried on the side of my neck.

"I know. I'm sorry."

Then she slowly calms down. Her breaths coming evenly and deeply like she has released all the hurt still left into one last cry. Maybe she has accepted that Norman can't be a part of her life anymore. She kisses my cheek.

"I took care of him for 19 years. I did my best, didn't I?" She asks in a small voice, and I need her to believe me when I answer her because I believe it too.

"Yes, you did."

She smiles genuinely at me, shaking her hair out of her face, and taking my hand.

"Alex, let's go home."

* * *

 _Two weeks later_

I'm about to head out of the office when I get a text from Norma.

'When you get home, go upstairs and change. Then come to the dining room. In that order. No peeking!'

I chuckle to myself and wonder what she's up to now. Arriving home I do as she asked. Her subtlety is on display by the way she laid out an outfit for me on the bed: black pants and a light blue dress shirt. Thankfully no tie so it must be a casual event. I change in her chosen attire for me and when I go back downstairs knock on the closed door of the dining room for good measure.

"Norma?"

"Come on in!"

I slowly open the door and smile as soon as I see her and what her mystery was all about.

"Surprise!"

She jumps a little and motions her open arms towards the dinner table. A table that is currently elegantly covered in a white tablecloth and holding a small tiered white cake with those bride and groom little dolls on top of it. There are also flowers in vases around the room.

"You made a cake."

"I made us a _wedding_ cake."

"And you found a blond girl doll and a black hair guy doll..."

"That's us!"

"I figured." I say approaching her and wrapping my arms around her waist pulling her close to me. "So, is this our wedding?" I give her a short but sweet kiss.

"Yes, the fun part. I promised you a wedding cake and since we missed out on a few traditions the day we got married I thought we might have them now."

"Interesting. So what else have you planned out?"

"Our first dance." She steps out of my arms and reaches for the small stereo she placed here and a song starts playing.

 _You may not be an angel, 'cause angels are so few  
But until the day that one comes along, I'll string along with you.  
I'm looking for an angel, to sing my love song to  
And until the day that one comes along, I'll string along with you._

"This is actually the first song we danced to." I mention to her as I encircle her again in my arms and we start moving to the rhythm of the song.

"Yes, at the Winter Lights Festival. I love this song."

 _For every fault that you have, say, I've got three or four  
The human little faults that you do have, just make me love you more.  
You may not be an angel but still I'm sure you'll do  
So until the day that one comes along, I'll string along with you._

I spin her around a little and her light blue skirt twirls like a cloud around her and she laughs. Her laugh is a much more beautiful music than the one playing in the background.

"And now we toast. I got non-alcoholic sparkling wine so I can drink too."

I open the bottle that is resting on the ice bucket and fill our glasses. We toast and drink. And dance again.

"Let's cut the cake. We have to do it together." She places my hand on top of hers holding the knife. While she focuses on the cake I kiss her neck and cheek as she maneuvers our hands to cut the biggest piece of cake I've ever seen.

"Now I feed it to you." I tell her and she looks surprised that I know this.

We feed each other cake until she says no more. Then she sits on top of the table and seductively spreads her legs a little.

"Now search under my skirt. You have to find the garter."

Again I do as she asks and start running my hands from her calves to her knees, my hands disappearing under her full skirt, touching the soft skin of her thighs until I find something that feels like lace. I tease her a little by moving my hand higher and lightly touching her through her panties. I move both my hands to the garter again and start pulling it down, not breaking eye contact with her, loving the way her breathing has quickened, her chest rising and falling steadily with each breath she takes.

I take the small piece of lace down her leg and off and let it dangle from my finger. Then toss it over my shoulder. She laughs low in her throat.

"Did you even see the color of it?"

"It was blue."

"Yes, and my underwear is white. You know, for the 'something white, something blue'…"

I don't let her finish. I'm kissing her before I can stop myself but from her reaction she doesn't mind. Her lips are still sticky from the sugary confection, and soon we're both panting into the kiss.

"What's next?" I ask against her lips.

"Next is the honeymoon." She sighs against my mouth and I scoop her up in my arms, carrying her over the threshold like newlyweds are supposed to do.

I'm planning on spending the whole night giving her the honeymoon she deserves.

* * *

TBC…

 **To the Guest who requested the wedding cake scene, I hope you liked it. :)**


	17. Ray of Sunshine

**A/N: Forgot to add this at end of chapter 16: The song Norma and Alex dance to on this story (as in episode 404) is I'll String Along With You. I thought it was a beautiful and perfect song for them. Also, next chapter is the last one! I know, I know… it's sad, but all things have to end eventually.**

 **Warning: There's a lot of baby stuff on this chapter; from birth to diapers so if you're squeamish about any of it or hate babies you've been warned ;) but if you do like babies, or a Normero one, then enjoy this fluff fest! Thanks, as always, for your lovely reviews! I love them and they make me want to keep writing. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 _Five months later…_

Waking up alone in bed I instantly feel bad that Norma is not lying next to me. This last month has been tough for her. She doesn't complain, well, she doesn't complain a lot, but I know she's uncomfortable and sleeping at night has been difficult for her. I often find her taking naps on the sofa, or resting in bed in the middle of the day, trying to find a comfortable position and looking beautiful as ever as I tell her every single day.

As expected I find her reclining on the sofa, the pillows behind her head and under her legs, a book on her hand; but her eyes are closed. She's wearing my sweater, the one she made for me as a Christmas gift, and those stretchy black pants that cling to her legs she's taken to wearing a lot lately. It's only 10am on a Saturday and I overslept a little but she probably woke up early and then fell asleep here in the living room.

Quietly I walk closer to her, and as I do every single day take a chance to admire her new curves; her fuller breasts and her completely rounded belly. My child. My child who has been growing inside of her, getting bigger and stronger. I am filled with a sense of pride even though I know I haven't done much. I just planted the seed and watched her nurture the life within her. It's been amazing and beautiful and exciting and terrifying.

As if she feels my presence she stirs a little, opening her eyes and smiling sleepily at me. I move to sit next to her and put my hand over her huge stomach and smile broadly as both our hands cradle our child together.

"Good morning, beautiful." I place a soft lingering kiss on her smiling lips.

"Hmm, good morning. Did you sleep okay?"

"I should be asking that. I'm not the one carrying a human being inside me."

She giggles softly. "Oh? You mean this little one? Yeah, it keeps pressing into my bladder. I had to pee so badly and it took me so long to get out of bed I just stayed up."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Because you were tired. You've been working a lot and you need your rest too."

"You're amazing."

"Yes, I am."

We laugh together.

"So, you're wearing my sweater again."

"It's the only thing that fits. Plus, is soft and it smells like you."

I bend down and kiss her again, slowly caressing her lips with my own, licking and teasing her lower lip until she opens her mouth to me and I feel her tongue come play with mine. After a few passionate minutes she ends the kiss, and looks at me with a hint of mischief, a happy smile on her face. Pregnancy has been interesting for our sex life too. We've had to get creative as she became bigger and we've had to accommodate her growing belly into our activities. But it's been fun and sexy and exhilarating to try.

Her eyes squint at me; she knows what I'm thinking about. Her raised eyebrow and grin confirm it. I can't help but find her incredibly irresistible while pregnant; full of curves and life, and I've spent the past five months just showing her that.

"Help me up. I'm hungry. I should make breakfast for all three of us."

She sits with a little difficulty and then I pull her up. Once she's standing we smile at each other again, her height a little lower than usual since she also stopped wearing her high heels a couple months ago. I love it because it means she has to raise herself on her tip toes to kiss me. Of course nowadays, our child is nestled in between us every time we try to hug or kiss, but we somehow manage.

Once in the kitchen we make quick work of preparing eggs and pancakes and toasts. Norma hasn't lost her ability to cook as we're a battalion, and even though she does eat more now than she used to before, is still funny to me how much quantity of food she likes to cook.

"Tell your kid to stop kicking me so much." She groans once she has eaten, standing up to start doing the dishes.

I finish eating too, and go over to her, putting my plates on the sink and moving her so she's looking at me, away from the sink. I kneel in front of her, my face in front of her belly, and I place my hands around her expanded waist.

"Hey, kid. How are you today? Your mommy tells me you're kicking her too much. I know you're probably bored in there and want to come out to watch football games with me..." I look up just to see Norma rolling her eyes at me, trying to hide her smile. "You'll be out soon, don't worry. We can't wait to meet you." And in that moment we both feel the baby kick.

I smile in amazement like every other time I've felt the strong kicks. "Sorry, I tried, but this kid is inheriting your stubbornness." I tease her.

"Oh, the stubbornness comes from my side?" She feigns being offended. "Because you're not contrary!" The corner of her mouth turns up as we both remember the time she told me those very same words. Here in this very same kitchen. If only we knew then where we'd end up.

I kiss her tummy and then rise up.

"I love you." I tell her as I search her lips once again.

"I love you too." She answers once we end the kiss. I send her away and do the dishes myself.

* * *

It's 2pm. Norma's nap time. Like every weekend for the past two or three months, she insists I join her in bed while she falls asleep. She enjoys me running my hands through her hair or massaging her tired feet. She purrs and moans in relaxation, and when she is finally asleep, I use the time to clean and tidy up around the house, or the garden, anything I can do to make sure she has less to do once she's awake.

She's a tirelessly creature, and just as she told me months ago, she had kept doing all the work around the house even as her pregnancy advanced. The work at the motel picked up during spring and summer too with a steady flow of guests almost every week. At least she allowed me to bring in Lucinda, and she has lessened Norma's work load too, helping at the house and even at the motel.

I remember the first time she bumped into something while trying to squeeze in to vacuum some part of the living room. Her belly was already growing big and she laughed at herself. "Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant." She told me that time, while I looked in amusement at her. "I guess I won't be able to do some things for a while. I've forgotten about that. You were right." I wanted to tell her I told you so but her admission of it was enough.

Now as I take the trash out I think back to the many times I accompanied her to the grocery store, or the weekend afternoons and early evenings we spent this summer walking in the park because Norma said she needed the fresh air, and how people would stop us and congratulate us. She beamed all those times as strangers and acquaintances alike commented on how beautiful she looked pregnant. I would almost burst with pride at calling her my wife and the mother of my soon to be born child.

I also took her out many times; to dinner, to the movies and the theater like I had promised her. We even went to Cannon Beach last month, even though she refused to wear a bathing suit. "Alex, I look like I swallowed a basketball. And besides, I'm not getting into the water; it's not safe for the baby." She said with authority and I didn't even ask why, I trusted her completely. But she did wear a pretty dress that somehow clung to the round shape of her belly and still flowed freely around her legs in the summer ocean breeze. She looked gorgeous.

"I'll wear a bathing suit next year." She mentioned.

"You promise?"

"I do." She sealed the promise with a kiss.

We took many pictures that day and sat down on a beach blanket on the sand, watching the happy families enjoying their summer. We watched the kids splashing around in the water and when I asked her if she was imagining our kid doing the same she had answered with a dreamy 'yeah'. She pressed her back against my chest and rubbed her belly lovingly and I hugged her, hugged them both, and kissed her cheeks and smelled her hair, which had caught a bit of the ocean smell too.

There were also scary moments along the way. Like when Norma had to get tests done to see if the baby was alright. I learned it is advisable for pregnant women her age to get the procedure performed. I cringed inwardly when I saw the giant needle that her doctor put into her abdomen, and the amniotic liquid it took out. I still can feel the way she squeezed my hand and how she whimpered a little while it was done. Then we had to wait a couple days; those were the stressful days. But then all the tests came out okay, we were told the baby was perfect and she finally relaxed completely into the pregnancy.

It was far more exciting for both, and less painful for Norma, the day we found out the sex.

"Really? Are you sure?" I had incredulously asked Dr. Amelia (that's how she asked her patients to call her, by her first name).

"I'm 99% sure." She had answered with a knowing smile.

I looked at Norma at that moment, who was staring intently at the screen where our baby's heart could be seen beating fast, and noticed her tears. But then she looked at me and her smile grew. She started laughing and we hugged while the doctor cleaned up the gooey gel from Norma's belly and left us alone.

"Are you happy?" She had asked me.

"I'm extremely happy. You?"

"Yes! Oh yes, yes." She had answered in between each tiny kiss she pressed all over my face.

I'm closing the front door behind me, smiling at the memory, when I hear Norma's scream.

"ALEX!"

I run up the stairs, taking the steps three at a time. Upon reaching our bedroom I see Norma doubled over; one hand on the footboard of the bed and the other holding her stomach. I feel the panic rising in me.

"Norma! What's wrong?"

She looks at me, her face already showing signs of distress. "Nothing's wrong. It's just time." She speaks slowly and without alarm. At my lack of movement she adds. "Alex, take me to the hospital."

We made it to the hospital but I have no recollection how, even though I drove us here. At one point I wanted to turn on the siren of the patrol car but she wouldn't let me. "No. That would make me anxious. And there isn't any emergency here. I'm just giving birth." She said so calmly I wanted to scream 'Exactly! My kid is being born and it is an emergency!' but she has done this before so I had to trust her.

Long hours have passed now and I feel utterly useless. Even though we took the birth classes, which I suspect Norma did mostly for my benefit since she definitely knew what she was doing, but I had no idea what to expect. I look at her and wish I could do something more to help her, so I offer my hand for her to squeeze to the point of pain (without complaining since she's obviously in more pain than I am), hold her whenever she calls my name, and dry the sweat off her face.

She keeps groaning in pain with each contraction. Her doctor is telling her is just a matter of minutes now. I'm feeling overwhelmed by it all. It's not the blood; I'm a sheriff for Christ's sake, but rather the controlled chaos of the delivery room with its beeping of hospital machines, Norma's constant moans of agony, the doctor's incessant words of encouragement to her, and the impending birth of our child. But the doctor seems relaxed doing her job so nothing bad can be happening, and Norma, well; Norma is the epitome of strength and determination. I wish I can be half as brave as she is being right now, and I sure as hell wish I will be a good dad to this kid she's about to bring into the world.

"I swear, Alex, if you faint now I'll kill you." I hear Norma's words pulling me back from my stream of racing thoughts and I concentrate my attention back to her.

"No. I'm right here baby, right here with you." I kiss her temple, take a deep breath and wrap my arm around her shoulders to support her.

"Ok, Norma, one last big push." I hear Dr. Amelia say and then Norma is surging forward, squeezing my hand and pushing with all her might. There's one last long scream of pain and then she rests back on the bed sighing heavily with relief. That's when we hear it; the baby's cry filling the room.

A minute later a wailing baby is placed on Norma's belly, and she quickly reaches for it, touching and kissing tiny hands and tiny arms. The doctor hands me the small scissors to cut the cord and I do, feeling the spongy tissue break free. My child is no longer physically connected to its mother. I look in awe at this amazing brave woman and at the small human being in her arms that I already feel I love more than my own life. My heart expands with happiness and the need to protect them both from all harm for the rest of my life. I have a gun and I intend to use it on whoever hurts any of them. Then I'm kissing her, thanking her for this gift and telling her how incredibly magnificent she is. She kisses me back.

"We have a child, Sheriff Romero." I hear her softly sniffling, tears of joy running down her face as she snuggles the baby closer to her chest, and then I realize I'm crying too.

* * *

I'm assembling the crib when Norma comes into the bedroom eating a popsicle; she's taken to eating popsicles all summer. She flops down on the bed, sighing and rubbing her big stomach.

"Are you done with that?" She motions towards the crib.

"Yes, I think so. I mean, I've never done this before but I followed the instructions and it seems sturdy." I move the crib around and put pressure on it, testing its strength.

"Good. I want to have it ready and umm… can you move the baby's dresser in here too?"

"Why? I thought you said it was going into the other room and if we put it here we won't have any space to move around?"

"Never mind." She shrugs and pouts adorably, but she is already close to tears. I can sense something is bothering her.

"Norma, what is it?" I sit next to her and duck my head to try to look into her face. She's looking down at her stomach, gently rubbing her hand in small circles on top of it.

"It just… it's stupid but… I don't want to use his room for the baby. It makes me feel like I'm replacing one child with another."

"That's impossible, Norma. You would never do that."

"I wish I had a new room for the baby, somewhere that has never been used by anybody else so I don't feel bad for using his room."

"I told you we could move."

"I know, but I'm not ready to do that just yet."

"Ok, you tell me when you are. And I will put the dresser in here if that's what you want."

"Thank you."

Three days later I come home from work and find Norma in our bedroom; happily folding the tiny baby clothes we have been buying but were still in shopping bags and putting them in the dresser's drawers. I managed to fit it in next to the closet and the crib is pushed in the corner, although Norma plans to put it in the center of the room once the baby is here.

"Hey." I make my presence known to her.

"Hi!" She smiles widely when she sees me.

"I see you're busy." I walk over to her and after kissing her; look down at where she has all the tiny clothes arranged by colors and styles.

"Yes, I wanted to organize all the clothes. Isn't this cute?" She says while showing me the tiniest pajamas I've ever seen. Can't believe soon we'll have a tiny person in the house that fits into those. "These are the ones Dylan and Emma brought when they came to visit last weekend."

"They're cute."

"Do you think Norman will accept the baby once is born? Do you think he'll love it?" She asks sadly.

"I don't know, Norma. But I know this baby will be loved by Dylan, and Emma, and you and me."

She rests her head against my shoulder, my arms encircling her protruding belly when one small onesie catches my eye.

"What's this?" I ask amused.

"Oh. I saw it the other day at the baby store and couldn't leave it. Isn't it adorable?" She takes the piece of clothing and places it on top of her stomach. We look down at it and start laughing, sharing big laughs at our inside joke until Norma yells "Stop! Ouch, the baby is kicking!" We regain our composure and put the onesie with the one horned creature design and the 'Baby unicorn' lettering back in the drawer.

* * *

Just six days after being born and the kid already has more stuff than I do: diapers, bottles, blankets, clothes, bibs, and all the other million little things that are now scattered around the house. I smile to myself as I bring up the bags from my most recent shopping trip. Today Norma sent me in a panic to the store to buy baby nail clippers, because apparently that's a thing babies need and she had forgotten to buy one. I had to ask Lisa, the salesgirl who has seen us visit the baby store a dozen times while Norma was pregnant, who smiled amusedly when she pointed me in the direction of the much needed item. I used the trip to buy more diapers and wiping cloths since those seem to be the most used items by far.

I'm back home now and go upstairs since Norma is not in the living room. As I turn at the bedroom door I'm greeted by the most beautiful thing I've seen in my life. She's sitting on the bed, nursing our child, a calm and joyful expression on her face. She's softly humming a song too.

She smiles when she looks up and sees me. I walk over to them, sitting next to her and wrapping my arms around them. I look down over Norma's shoulder at the small baby sucking sleepily at her mother's breast.

"She's a little ray of sunshine." I say admiring my beautiful daughter.

"A hungry ray of sunshine." Norma clarifies.

She reaches for the baby's hand that is resting against her breast and kisses it. I touch the baby's head; her soft shiny black hair.

"She looks just like you." Norma whispers so as not to disturb her.

"But she has your perfect lips, and your nose and your beautiful blue eyes."

"She does, but she has your eyelashes, your dark hair and your skin color."

"She looks like both of us."

"I wanted her to look exactly like you."

"I wanted her to be blonde and blue eyed like you."

"She is already playing us."

"Yeah, doing whatever the hell she pleases. Just like her mom." Norma looks back at me and raises her eyebrow, but then rolls her eyes at me. "Can you believe she was conceived in St. Augustine and was born in August?" She keeps speaking in a low voice.

"We're not naming her Augusta." I look at her sternly, I'm being totally serious. "How about Louise or Lily like we talked?" We had a short list of possible baby names but since giving birth, Norma has decided none of them are to her liking anymore.

"Mmm, they're pretty but I think there are too many girls named like that, she'll meet them in school. You'll see." She winces a little while separating our baby girl from her breast since she has fallen completely asleep. She places the baby on her shoulder to start burping her and I move to sit opposite her.

"Alexandra? After you?" She asks.

"I don't know, it sounds a little pretentious and too big for a small baby."

"Well, she's gonna grow up."

She finishes burping her and then hands her over to me. I hold my small child in my arms.

"We'll name her Kid, then." Norma laughs but looks scared for a second.

Our nameless baby holds on to my finger. Yeah, she already has me wrapped around her tiny finger.

* * *

I never expected to be this lucky. When I moved to this town I was looking to start a different life but I couldn't even imagine I'd end up like this. I've lost many things but I gained a good man and a lovely daughter; my new beautiful life. I'm tired but Alex has been home this past week and has helped with the baby a lot; even changing diapers and asking me to teach him how to bathe her. We were happy before, just the two of us, but this addition to our family has taken down the last wall on the tough sheriff's façade. I pity him when this little girl learns she can do with him anything she wants. He adores her and I love him even more because of it.

Right now I'm taking a long bath. I'm so happy to finally being able to shave my own legs and to relax in the tub knowing Alex is taking care of our child. He has to go back to work soon and I'll miss having him to myself all day.

It's late at night when I wake up and Alex is not in bed with me. I walk over to the crib in the middle of the room and my baby is not there either. Then I see the connecting door to the next room slightly open, a tiny bit of light coming from behind it. I smile when I poke my head in and see Alex holding our daughter in his arms, feeding her a bottle. "Come on kid, eat. Mommy pumped her milk before she went to bed so I could feed you. Please eat. Don't make me have to wake her up; she'll think I'm useless." I hear him whisper to her and my heart swells with love.

"Do you need help?"

"You're awake? I wanted you to sleep the night."

"I missed your warmth next to me. Plus when she's hungry I can feel it and I wake up."

"Wow. But, umm… I want to do this?"

"Ok, go ahead." I watch him try again until she starts sucking on the bottle.

"Ah! Success! See, kid? I bet is not as good as mommy's breast but it's still her milk."

"You're ridiculous." I go over to him, place a kiss on his lips and another on my daughter's forehead and go back to bed. "Call me if you need anything."

"Nah, we're good here."

I fell asleep but woke up again this time finding Alex asleep next to me. He's sitting with his back resting against the pillows and the headboard with our child also asleep on his bare chest, his arms protectively around her. I start to cry at the beautiful sight. I finally gave one of my children a good father. I wipe my tears from my face and take the baby from his arms to put her in the crib.

"What?" He's startled awake.

"I'm just putting her to bed."

I come back to bed and Alex quickly hugs me, spooning behind me, his arm reaching for my midsection. He's startled again and he must still be half asleep because I can feel his hand searching for a huge belly that is not there anymore.

"She's right there." I point to the crib.

"Oh, yeah." He whispers settling comfortably behind me again.

"I was thinking of Grace..." I mention softly and wait, not sure if he heard me. "For her name."

"It's beautiful. It suits her." He answers and buries his nose in my hair inhaling deeply. "Can we also name her Isabelle? You know, after my grandmother." He mumbles.

"Yes, I love it."

"Ok, it's settled then. Goodnight, Norma." I feel him kiss my shoulder.

"Goodnight, Alex."

* * *

I went back to work after two weeks of lack of sleep, constant diaper changes and helping with late night feeds. Norma has been doing double the work with nursing and taking care of the baby plus cooking for us. I missed them instantly as soon as I left the house but also enjoyed my work days so much more knowing my two ladies were waiting for me at home.

My employees 'oohed and aahed' over the pictures I showed them of my beautiful baby girl with a full head of black hair and big blue eyes. Everybody agreed on how gorgeous she was and Regina and the other women also commented how great Norma looked (she'd killed me if she knew I showed a picture of her in her robe and no makeup to the girls in the office) but I am as proud of her as I am of our baby girl.

On that first day back I was surprised with an office celebration congratulating me on being a new dad and they gave me a gigantic basket with gifts for the baby which Norma received with bigger surprise when I brought it home that day. She sent me back with an elegantly handwritten card the next day of course, thanking each and every one of them by name for the 'lovely gifts for our daughter.'

The other day I brought up the mail to the house and there was a small parcel from Dylan addressed to Norma. Once inside I gave it to her and she opened it to find a small jewelry satin bag with the note 'Mom, here's another charm for your bracelet. Congratulations to you and Alex. Love, Dylan and Emma.' She made me put it on her bracelet right away and called her son to thank him, telling me they promised to come meet the baby soon.

* * *

As I enter the house I hear the soft notes of the piano. I walk around the sofa so Norma can see me and is not scared by my presence. My daughter is currently in a bouncy chair on the floor next to Norma, looking intently at her mother as she hits the keys and sings to her.

 _Twinkle, twinkle, little star  
How I wonder what you are  
Up above the world so high  
Like a diamond in the sky  
Twinkle, twinkle, little star  
How I wonder what you are_

Norma smiles at me while finishing singing the song. "I used to sing this song to both Dylan and Norman when they were little." She recounts as I sit next to her on the piano bench. "Dylan hated it and he would cry. Norman used to love it and fell asleep every time. I'm doing an experiment…" She plays the notes and sings again and then I see Grace smiling.

"Did she just smile?"

"She did."

We both stay looking at her for a few seconds and then I take Norma's hands in mine, admiring their beauty, and gently stroking them and intertwining my fingers through hers.

"Alex, is something wrong?"

"What? Why?"

"You seem, I don't know, worried?"

"It's nothing."

"Alex, talk to me."

I take a deep breath before talking. "It's work stuff. There's this woman from the DEA, she's on my ass. She's got nothing on me but she's made it clear she wants me out; and some of the people in town who were in the drug business are mad at me and are making sure my job is even more difficult."

"Why haven't you told me any of this before?"

"I didn't want to worry you. You have so much going on with the baby, and Norman, the house, the motel…"

"You should've told me. I'm your wife; I want to be there for you, for everything."

"Sometimes I think how much easier it will be if I left all this behind."

I hear her gasp softly in surprise. I did not mean to say those words but they came out.

"Then… let's leave." She suggests in a calm tone.

"I thought you didn't want to move." I say after contemplating her words for a minute.

"That was before. I'm ready to move now."

"You're saying that because of what I just told you."

"No. I'll go with you anywhere."

I look into her blue eyes. They're shining with emotion, studying my face. Our foreheads touch and I feel her hand on the side of my neck.

"Norma, I want you to know I wouldn't care about any of it, if it were just me. I used to… deal with things my own way, but now… I don't want my past decisions and actions regarding my work, or Bob Paris or this town to hurt you or our daughter. I couldn't live with that."

"I know." She rears back to look at me, and then her eyes open wide. "But if we leave you will not be a fugitive, right? It's not like we're gonna be living like Bonnie & Clyde."

"No. There are no loose ties, I made sure of that." I chuckle at her flair for the dramatic.

"Then that's it. I only ask that we don't move too far away, there are Dylan and Norman…"

"I know. I would never take you away from them."

Grace makes a gurgling baby sound and we both down look at her; happily sucking at her tiny hand.

"We did that." I muse still amazed that we created her.

"We did."

I pick our daughter and place her on my lap. I kiss her downy head and then turn my head and kiss Norma softly on the lips.

"So are you sure about moving? Should we start planning?"

"Yes."

* * *

TBC…

 **A/N: There's a little inside joke with the baby names. If you've read Fragile Bird and Maybe This Time (and if you haven't run and do it now!), or if you're GeneHarlow or solveariddle, you know what I'm talking about. Let's just say I had to rename my Normero kid. Great minds think alike!**


	18. By the Seaside

**A/N: I want to say a big Thank You for every single review posted, and to all of you who took time to do it chapter after chapter and to the people who told me a few times along the way you loved the story. It gave me a lot of courage and inspiration to keep writing. A writer's ego is the most delicate thing and mine thanks you. To those of you who asked; yes, I intend to keep on writing Normero stories. I'm not going anywhere as long as the muse stays with me.**

 **Also, I don't know much about law enforcement jobs and placements, (or mental illness treatment) but did a little research and got the real city names and a possible way for Alex to get his new job, so you know; I tried to keep it realistic. If anything doesn't feel realistic, I apologize in advance. Just know I tried.**

 **And, I hope you like long final chapters because this one is: long and the last one. It was super hard to write. Here it goes.**

* * *

 _Six weeks later..._

"Where are my girls?" I ask quietly to the empty living room as I arrive home just in case the baby is asleep.

"Kitchen!" I hear Norma answering in her characteristically chirpy tone. I don't know how she heard me but she did.

I turn around the hallway into the kitchen, the smells and pots on the stove telling me she's cooking or at least attempting to, because right now she's happily playing with our daughter, who's tucked in her bouncing chair on top of the table. Norma is blowing raspberries at her and playing peekaboo. Then she places a kiss on the baby's cheek. "I love you, my little Grace." I hear her say sweetly. Then she looks at me and her mouth turns upward into a smile.

"Hi, hun."

"Hi, baby." I kiss her and then turn my attention towards the baby; whose eyes are following Norma's every move. "Hello, my sweet ray of sunshine."

"Look what I brought you." I announce opening the small shopping bag I brought and giving Grace the small baby giraffe I got for her. Her big blue eyes get bigger somehow, looking at the toy with surprise. I place it in next to her and kiss her chubby cheek too.

"Alex, stop bringing her so many toys, you'll spoil her." Norma complains but I can tell she's not mad at all, but just pretending to be.

"Nah. It's just a plush giraffe. Besides, she's not the only one getting a gift today." I announce offering her a small box and she gives it a fake serious look but then her face lights up and she quickly takes it from my hand and opens it to find the pair of earrings inside.

"Oh! Alex, they're beautiful."

"Who's the spoiled one now?" I wink at her and she smiles again.

She puts the new earrings on and then moves her head from side to side, showing them to me, the simple blue stone dangling from each of her earlobes now making a perfect parallel of gems with her eyes.

"Do you like them?'

"I love them." She comes closer and kisses me, holding my face in her hands. I quickly grab her waist and deepen the kiss but at that moment our daughter makes a sound like she's about to start crying.

"Oh, she's gonna be hungry soon. You entertain her while I finish our dinner."

Norma goes to take care of the food on the stove while I pick our daughter up.

"Umm I got good news." I mention casually while playing with Grace's tiny hands. Norma turns her head while still stirring whatever's in the pot to look at me. "I got the transfer job."

"You did?!"

"Yes. I won't be the sheriff, but the pay is the same. They can't cut my salary. And since both our houses are on the market now, hopefully they will sell soon too."

"I doubt this one will sell for much. That stupid road ruined everything!"

I chuckle at her ever present disdain for the highway.

"Yeah but the improvements you had made on the motel could get a better price. After we talked to the real estate agency I made sure to let them know the property value should be more than what they offered you the last time you tried to sell back."

"What, the guy I hit with my purse?" She smirks at the memory.

Norma starts putting our food on the table and I put Grace back on her bouncing chair.

"Did you threaten anybody?" She asks alarmed.

"No, Norma, no. I just called them after our meeting and talked to them again, you know, put a bit of pressure. It can't hurt."

She shrugs. "OK, then. So when do we move? I mean, we still need a house over there."

"Well, that's another bit of news I've got to share with you. Remember when Emma was in the hospital in Seattle and I told you I was following a lead for a case?"

"Yeah." She sounds doubtful.

"I was actually talking to the Sheriff in Portland about a possible job, and also I checked a couple houses around the area…"

"But we're not moving to Portland." She interrupts.

"No, I know. But while I was there I checked a couple cities nearby just in case, and now I got the job, I called ahead about a house I had liked. We can go see it this weekend and if you like it, it's ours. We can move anytime you want. I start the new job in Seaside in four weeks so we have enough time." I start eating the delicious smelling food.

"Well, aren't you full of surprises today?" She mentions playfully and when I look up at her she's smiling and shaking her head sideways in mild disbelief.

After a beat of companionable silence while we eat, Grace starts crying. Norma quickly takes her out of the chair and opening her blouse attaches her to her breast, and then continues eating with just one hand while holding the baby with the other. I feel I should help her with something.

"Do you need help?"

"Not unless you have breasts I didn't know about, but thanks." Her eyes shine with something I like to call happiness mixed with mischief.

After all of us finish eating, and Grace is peacefully asleep on her chair, Norma starts doing the dishes while I put the leftovers in the fridge.

"So, I have good news too." Norma mentions nonchalantly.

"Yeah? What?"

"Well, I think you forgot I had my checkup with doctor Amelia today."

"No, I didn't forget. I was waiting for you to bring it up. What did she say?"

"That everything's good." She keeps washing a dish like her life depends on it but then I hear her speak slowly. "And that we can hmm… resume our activities." She's not looking at me, her gaze intent on the plate on her hands, but I can see her smile and the way her eyebrow reaches for the heavens.

I approach her and wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her neck deliberately. "You mean we can start having sex again?" She just nods. "Then that is the best news I've heard today." She laughs.

Norma is finishing putting Grace to bed when I come back from taking a shower.

"Shh." She hushes putting her finger to her lips. "I just fed her again and hopefully she'll sleep for more than two hours. I'll be right back, don't wake her!" She whispers as she leaves.

When she comes back into the room and takes her robe off, my eyes quickly roam over her curves visible underneath the blue slip she's wearing. She takes one last look at Grace, and feeling satisfied that she's asleep, comes to bed.

"You look beautiful." I tell her as soon as she's close to me. She blinks heavily and then kisses me. I let her set the pace. Two months is a long time and I've missed her but I want to take it slow with her tonight, and make her feel safe and cherished.

In the end, when our need and desire envelops us, she's the one making all kind of noises; desperate moans as I caress every inch of her body, sweet sighs of pleasure when I finally plunge leisurely into her welcoming depths.

"Shh. We have to be quiet." I tell her as I capture her mouth trying to silence her whimpers and cries. But she's not the only one having difficulty keeping silence. I'm quickly losing control and I have to groan loudly as each stroke reminds me of the sweet torture that is her body, and I claim and she takes; and she gives and I accept. She's trembling in my arms and right before she comes she whispers 'I missed you.' and then I'm gone.

* * *

The furniture is, one more time, covered in white sheets. The piano was already shipped to Seaside. We're only taking our clothes and personal possessions. I packed Norman's clothes and his books and other things too. They only thing I'm leaving are the taxidermy. I'm not taking any of them to our new house. I always hated that hobby of his.

I take one last look at the living space and I am reminded of how happy and excited I was when we first moved here. How many dreams I had of creating a new life for me and Norman but it was not meant to be; and not everything turned out as expected.

The weight of my baby's sleeping body resting against my chest pulls me back from my dark memories. I turn my head and kiss her soft head and promise her she'll have a good life. 'Oh my little Gracie, your dad and I will make sure of that. We're good people, I promise you. And we will do our best to make you safe and happy.' I whisper to her just as I hear Alex opening the front door.

"All Grace's stuff is in the truck. Are you ready to go?"

"Would you take her for a bit? I need to do something down at the motel."

He nods and I place our sleeping daughter in his arms. I get out of the house without looking back at its interior and head down the outside stairs. As I reach where I was going I look up to the big blue sign and smile. At least I did something here, it didn't work out exactly as I planned, but for a year it was a booming business that provided for us and I am proud of having accomplished that.

"Norma…"

I look back to see Alex coming towards me with Grace in his arms.

"Umm, we should go… we have a few hours' drive, plus the stop at Pineview."

"Yes, I'll be right there." I smile at him and the beautiful sight he makes every time I see him carrying our daughter.

"Ok, I'm going to put her in the car seat."

I turn around to the motel. "Goodbye, White Pine Bay. You were a nightmare… but you didn't break me. In fact, I'm taking the best you had to offer with me." I take one last look at the Bates Motel sign and the 'For Sale' one below it, then head towards the car where Alex is finishing buckling up Grace. The small moving truck carrying our things attached to the back of my vintage car. I get in the passenger's seat.

Looking out the window I take one last look at the looming house, up on the hill, and remember all the bad things that happened there.

"You know what?" I turn towards Alex who's seating in the driver's seat.

"What?" He's instantly paying attention to me.

"I'd do it all over again. This town; everything bad that happened to me here. I'd take it all again if it means meeting you." I see his eyes shine with possible tears and I fear I may start crying too so I add "And marrying and falling in love with you. In that order." I make him smile despite my bad joke.

"Are you ready?" He asks.

"I'm ready."

I'm ready for my new house and my new life. I turn in my seat to look into the back seat, where our precious cargo is still sound asleep.

"Are you ready, Grace? You're gonna meet your brothers soon. You'll like them, you'll see. And I'm sure they'll love you."

Alex moves the car away from the gravel one last time and as soon as he gets us on the road he takes my hand and kisses the back of it. And we're off towards Pineview; then Seaside, Oregon, where our new life begins.

* * *

 _Three years later…_

"Alex!"

"Kitchen!" I yell back and catch myself smiling, still amused after all this time, that living with her have made me take on a few of her idiosyncrasies.

"What are you doing?" She asks upon seeing me.

"I figured since you had that meeting in the afternoon I could start dinner."

"Daddy!" Grace comes running behind Norma and jumps up in my arms.

"Hello, my ray of sunshine!"

"Mommy said I could get a dog!"

"Really?" I look at Norma suspiciously.

"I said we are going to _think_ about it." She clarifies while she comes over to where we are, giving me a kiss and lovingly touching Grace's long onyx hair, and then putting on her apron.

I put Grace down and send her to wash her hands. Norma makes quick work of the chicken breasts she had left marinating and that I put in the pan a while ago and starts making a salad.

"How was work today?" She asks.

"Oh, you know; the usual."

"No criminals to fight?"

"There will always be criminals, but nothing here is as corrupted as White Pine Bay was."

"Not since they got a hot new sheriff." She teases me as she has done ever since I got sworn in as the new Sheriff of Clatsop County so as to complete the term of Sheriff McAdams who retired two years after we moved here. In two more years I'm up for the next election which I feel confident I'll win.

"Norma…" I utter her name with a hint of a warning.

"Ok, I won't tease you anymore…" She stops and I think she's done but of course she's not. "Big Daddy of Clatsop County."

In retaliation I playfully slap her ass.

"Hey!" She protests non-convincingly. "Ok, ok… I'll stick to Big Shot." She winks at me.

"Why they needed you at the hotel today?" I ask while I set the table.

"Oh. There's a slight change of plans."

Grace comes back, showing me her clean hands and I help her get seated at the table. Norma puts our food on the plates and our little girl looks at the green salad with mild disgust.

"I made mac and cheese for you." I tell her conspiratorially eliciting a bright smile on her small face.

"I heard that." Norma chips in, but when she turns back to the table she already has Grace's aforementioned favorite food served on her favorite Disney Princess plate. "You still have to eat the chicken, okay?" She tells her with a sweet tone and a loving smile.

"Yes, Mommy."

We sit to eat. "So, the change of plans?"

"Oh, right. I'm going to have to go to Newport this weekend for the convention. My boss got sick and she can't go. She says she only trusts me with the event even though the other girls will be there too. You know they're young, and Layla is scared they might get drunk and make a mess. So she wants me, she 'needs me' as she said. So, can you take care of Grace?"

"Yes, of course. Are you driving by yourself? I don't want you coming back late at night, it's almost a three hours' drive."

"I'll go on Saturday morning, the event starts at seven that evening, but I won't be driving back that night. The hotel pays for rooms for us to stay there so I'll be coming home on Sunday."

"Ok." I keep eating and then remember something. "But wasn't it this weekend Dylan and Emma were coming?"

"Yes! But I already called them and they can be here Friday in the afternoon. That way we can all have our planned family dinner and then I'll leave the next day."

"You're leaving?" A small sad voice comes from the chair to my right side.

"Yes, sweetie, but only for one night. I'll be back home the next day when you see the sun come up. Daddy will be here with you. And Dylan and Emma are visiting so you'll have even more company." Norma replies cheerfully from the chair to my left.

"Is Norman coming too?" Grace asks.

"No, sweetie, not this weekend."

"But you said he was coming…" She pouts, she loves her brother. She loves Dylan and even Emma too.

"Yes, but Norman is not feeling well right now, so the doctor said he shouldn't come this weekend." Norma looks at me with wide eyes. We received a call this Monday that Norman had another bad episode and they were upping his medication for the remainder of the week.

Norman's illness is a part of our lives now, but Grace has yet to understand the scope of it and why he can't visit us as often as she would like him to. He only is allowed outside once every three months because I'm a police officer and he's under our legal custody. He was a person of interest in Bradley Martin's death after, to our horror not long after we had moved here, police found her body inside a car in the pond. His mental incompetence prevented him getting charged or having to stand for trial, but he's now a mental patient, forever. It was either that or jail. Norma preferred the mental institution.

So we shuffle in between visits to him in Pineview and to Dylan in Seattle. Our new location is almost the same driving distance to both cities, which makes Norma happy. Is one of the reasons she agreed to move here, she said she was between her two sons; not too close but also not too far away.

"We'll go visit him next weekend, ok?" Norma offers Grace as a consolation, bringing me back from my reverie, and she smiles broadly. She's such a good and happy kid.

"So, are you okay with me going away for the weekend? I mean, it's only a day and a night really." She now addresses her question to me.

"Sure. I'll miss you but I'm also proud Layla trusts you so much." I smile at her.

When we moved here Norma started taking online classes; marketing, management, anything she could get her hands on. When Grace was two-years old she announced she wanted to work. It was not a money issue, the house and motel got sold to a developer and she got more than half her initial investment, but she wanted to work. Since I also sold my old house we bought this one and we still had money left. She got a part-time events and marketing assistant position at one of the big hotels in the city 10 months ago and in that short time, she has become her boss' Layla right hand.

I feel her foot slowly caressing my calf and I look up to see she's smiling devilishly at me. Ah, she wants to play. Well, two can play this particular game. We both take a glance at Grace who's finishing up eating and I take the chance and run my hand up her leg, and caress her knee, going up her thigh a little bit more.

"Are you really gonna miss me?" She asks sultrily.

"You have no idea."

* * *

The working week is over. I arrive at our two-story white house with blue window frames, much like my old house in White Pine Bay was, and I'm surprised by the sudden realization that even though this house looks similar albeit a bit bigger in size, it also holds so much more happiness inside it too. I get out of my service patrol car and head inside with a bottle of wine for tonight's dinner and a bouquet of flowers for my wife.

Once inside the warmth of our home hits me; the sunset light still coming in from the many windows, the wood of our furniture, her piano in the corner of the living room, the many framed pictures, lots of toys lying around and flowers, always flowers; one of Norma's favorite things.

"Where are the Romero girls?" I ask even though Norma kept her promise of keeping her name. She uses Romero in formal occasions like when we go to events together but legally she's still Norma Bates and I rather like it, it suits her.

"Alex, come into the dining room!" She yells from the other room.

Dylan and Emma are already here and we exchange greetings.

"Hey! Look at you! You've certainly grown since last month." I tell Emma who looks radiant being pregnant.

"Yes, entering the third trimester now and I'm getting big!"

I go over to Norma, kiss her hello and hand her the flowers and the wine.

"Thank you, honey."

"Um, so we have something we wanted to tell you." Dylan offers.

Norma looks at them with big expectant eyes.

"Well, you already know it's a girl…" Emma talks while touching her stomach. "But we decided on a name." She looks over at Dylan who looks excited and a little scared.

"So, which one is it?" Norma is impatient as always.

"Audrey Louise." Emma finishes and I look over at Norma, whose eyes are instantly filled with tears.

"You're going to name her after me?"

"Yes. Well, and after my mom. We saw each other last year and we've become close. Now I'm going to be a mother myself I want to leave all our crap behind and I'd love my baby to have both her grandmothers' names."

"If that's okay with you." She adds.

"Yes!" Norma hugs Emma and they laugh happily. Then she hugs Dylan too.

We settle to have dinner. Norma looks joyous listening to Dylan talking about his work and college classes, which he's still attending at night. Emma for her part is graduating next summer. Grace has already named two of her dolls Audrey and Louise in honor of the baby's name.

"And you're going to finish college, right? Even after the baby comes." Norma asks him.

"Yes, mom. Of course. Even though I'm not as smart as Emma, I'll intend to graduate too, someday." He promises while smiling at his wife, making his mother proud at the same time.

After dinner, Dylan and Emma are playing with Grace in the living room, and I take the opportunity to go upstairs to be alone with her for a little bit. She's finishing packing her overnight bag, the dress she will be wearing already inside the garment bag. I wrap my arms around her waist.

"God, you smell good."

"You smell good too. And I know it's only a night, but don't let Grace eat dessert or any sugar before dinner." She warns sternly. I look at her mildly offended. "I know you, Alex Romero. And if she asks for a fifty pound lollipop before dinner you'd give it to her. And you know I'll know if you do, I'll always know."

She's right. She always knows everything that's happening at the house, with me, and with Grace, even when she's not around. It's unfathomable, endearing, and never good for keeping secrets. But then, we don't keep secrets from each other anymore.

"Ok, I won't. I'll have her adequately and healthily fed. Desert and candy only afterwards."

"You promise?" She challenges with a questioning raised eyebrow.

"I do." And I seal the promise with a kiss.

* * *

Weekend days are my favorites. Sleeping a little late than usual and spending the whole day with the girls. They're still upstairs, Norma enjoying her morning ritual of dressing Grace and brushing her hair, when I walk by the hallway and find Emma looking at the framed pictures on the hallway table.

"Hey, Emma."

"Hi. Good morning."

I sip my morning coffee while standing next to her for a moment and quickly get drawn to the photographs too; the memories of moments spent with Norma, many of them captured forever in a snapshot.

There are photos showing I kept my promise of taking her to a beach vacation every year: a smiling Norma next to me during our short honeymoon in Santa Barbara, and a very pregnant and glowing Norma in Cannon Beach. Another one in Maui, this time with a one-year old Grace in her arms. I took her to Hawaii for our second anniversary, and as she promised she wore a bikini, showing off her exquisite figure. She also had Grace wear one matching hers, and it was the most adorable thing I've ever seen.

Norma kept collecting seashells from all the beaches we have gone to, and they're arranged in between the frames holding the photos. The collection of photographs from places we've been to, and from family moments and milestones, is also on display on a few walls around the house.

On the table there's the picture of us with Robert and Cecilia Arellano in St. Augustine, where we went back last year so they could meet Grace. The nice couple was ecstatic to receive news of the baby and invited us over right away, but we only managed to go when Grace was almost two, and they loved her as soon as they saw her. They're still happy and in love and the B&B is still running as a successful romantic getaway.

There are the Christmas pictures; of the two of us, of Dylan and Emma, of Grace's first and second Christmas. A Dylan and Emma wedding photo. There are of course pictures of Norman as a boy and as a young man. Another one of us with a toddler Grace in my arms at the Grand Canyon where I've always wanted to go. Also, one of us in Disneyland, where Norma insisted we take Grace even though she was only a baby. I smile now looking at the image of all three of us in Mickey ears. Norma's smile in the picture was worth wearing the stupid hat.

Then there's the picture at the center of the table: a recent one, taken at Pineview's garden during one of our family visits, of Norma's three children together. Grace, her hair in pigtails, is seated in between her two older brothers smiling happily at the camera.

For all his rage when Norman learned Norma was pregnant he was calm when he met his half-sister. After the outburst of that day, Norma didn't visit him again while she was pregnant; she never said anything but I know it was her way of protecting our unborn child. The day we drove out of White Pine Bay we stopped at Pineview. Even though they had talked all the time on the phone, I think the physical distance made him miss her so much he was just happy to finally see her. As for Grace, I think he liked her because she was a girl, and she was not going to take his spot as her mother's dear boy. When Norma introduced him to Grace, who was securely held in my arms, he smiled and said 'She's beautiful. She looks like you, Mother.' We kept visiting and bringing Grace once in a while but I'm never too far away from them whenever either Norma or my daughter is near him, just in case.

"She's like Rose, from Titanic." I hear Emma speak in a dreamy voice and her words bring me back to the present.

"Huh?" I reply.

"Oh, he won't get the reference." I hear Norma comment from behind me. She was coming down the stairs and apparently heard what Emma said. Grace goes running in search of Dylan.

"About what, the ship?" I ask them and Emma laughs.

"No, silly. The movie." Norma rolls her eyes at me.

"Yes, I know there's a movie about the ship but what does that has to do with you?" Emma keeps laughing at my confusion.

"I've been showing him movies, you know, the classics." Norma speaks directly to Emma. "I watch some of the movies he likes, and he has to watch the ones I like. But so far, we've only made it to the 1960s movies so we're still a long way from Titanic."

"I think you should jump ahead and watch Titanic." Emma suggests. "It's only one of the most romantic movies ever made!"

I look at Norma and she's smiling, apparently approving of Emma's suggestion so I shrug in agreement. "OK, let's watch Titanic next."

Dylan comes walking with Grace hand in hand. Then my little girl comes running towards me and I pick her up. She's enthusiastically showing a bunch of flowers she picked from the garden with Dylan.

"They're for you, Mommy. So you can take them on your trip." She offers the small spontaneous bouquet to Norma who takes the flowers and presses them to her heart making Grace smile proudly.

"Thank you! I love them!"

"Are you looking at the pictures?" Grace quickly changes the subject. "When I'm five we're going to Disney World and I'm going to meet Robert and Cecilia, at their house, that's where mommy and daddy met me!"

We all laugh. Grace is adorable, curious, talkative, funny and imaginative. She's the joy of our lives.

"You already met them, sweetheart, but you were a baby and don't remember." I explain to her. "There's the picture, that's you."

"And we didn't meet you there, we made you there." Norma adds.

" _Made_ me?" She exclaims in her three-year old surprised voice.

"Yes, it means Mommy and Daddy got together and created you out of love." Norma explains to her in her expert way of answering Grace's everyday questions.

"Love like when you kiss?"

"Yes, something like that, yes." Norma smiles.

"You kiss each other a lot!"

"Because we love each other a lot." I tell her.

"Why we don't have more babies?"

"Because you, Grace Isabelle Romero, are all we can handle!" Norma kisses her cheek.

"Plus you have your two brothers and Emma, and soon you will have a baby in the family to play with too." I tell her and she finally looks pleased with our answers.

"I have to go." Norma announces looking at her watch and Dylan and Emma say goodbye to her and then go outside to take a walk around the neighborhood.

"Drive carefully." I tell her as I give her a lingering kiss.

"I will."

She kisses me again and then kisses Grace multiple times on her head and face.

"Be good. Eat your veggies. Take care of daddy."

We exchange more kisses as we head out the door. I can tell she hates to leave Grace but she's also aware she has to go and do her job.

"Don't forget my seashell!" Grace yells at her from the balcony while Norma puts her bags in her car.

"I won't!"

"I love you, Mommy!"

"I love you too, my sweet darling." She comes back quickly to press more kisses against Grace's face.

"Call me as soon as you arrive."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too." I give her one last kiss and we watch her drive away. Grace blowing kisses and waving goodbye enthusiastically.

"Hey, what do you want to do now?" I ask her once inside as I put her down on the floor.

"I want to make a cake!" I chuckle to myself. Like mother like daughter.

"And then, I want to watch football and play swords and dinosaurs with you!" Yup, she's definitely my daughter too.

* * *

I check myself in the full length mirror one last time. I haven't worn this dress since last year for one of Alex's work events we had to attend. I love this dress; its strapless cut hugs my upper body perfectly. I actually feel proud of my waist having had three children and this dress accentuates it. I also love the pattern of blue shimmering flowers on the black fabric and the full skirt flaring around my hips and going just over my knees. My hair is softly curled just the way Alex likes it. I shake my head as I miss him instantly and go downstairs to do my job.

The evening is a blur of welcoming guests, making sure everyone receives their gift bags and is seated in their correct table and that the catering, music and lighting are all running smoothly. By the time the event is well ahead and my attention is not needed anymore, I realize my feet are hurting from walking around for so long in these high heels.

The other girls from work are all together standing around a tall corner table sipping drinks and I decide to join them since really, our job here is done.

"Hey, girls."

"Hi, Norma." Lisa chirps in a really loud and happy voice. "Is okay we're drinking, right? We finished our work, and nobody is looking at us."

"It's okay by me. I'm not your mother." I look at the three of them seriously, and just as the martini I ordered from one of the waiters arrives, I wink at them. "Here's to a job well done!" They all laugh relieved.

"I love your dress. You are so beautiful. You're exactly how I want to look in 15 years." Tiffany babbles and I take it as a compliment.

"Thank you, Tiffany." I sip my martini rather quickly so I can leave soon.

We make small talk for a while and then Maggie speaks.

"Umm, don't look now, Norma, but there's this like, really hot guy looking at you." The other girls look not even trying to be covert but since the action is happening behind me I don't turn my head around. "And he's been looking this way for a long time. I noticed it like, 20 minutes ago."

"Oh, yes, and he's really cute." Lisa comments enthusiastically.

"Well, he's probably looking at any of you. I'm twice your age!"

"Ohmygod, he's coming our way now!" She almost screams in my ear.

"Okay, that's it. I'm going to my room now, you girls behave and I'll see you back home."

But Lisa's eyes have gone huge and I can already feel the man's presence behind me. Then I feel a hand on my waist, and in a second my fury takes hold of me and I'm about to turn around and slap his hand away, when something happens. It's a distinct smell, a uniqueness in his touch, and I'm already smiling despite my prior reaction. Then I hear his voice.

"Good evening, ladies."

I do turn around this time to see Alex standing next to me, looking handsome as ever in a dark suit and tie, smiling the smile that makes my knees go weak.

"Um, girls, this is my husband, Alex Romero." I introduce him, keenly aware that I'm smiling like an idiot too.

"Alex, this is Lisa, and Maggie and Tiffany."

A chorus of hi's come from them.

"Nice to meet you all."

"What are you doing here?" I turn slightly to him.

"I missed you." Is his only response, like it explains everything, and it does. I can hear the girls gushing 'awwws' when Alex speaks again.

"Are you done here?" I nod affirmatively. "Ladies, it's been a pleasure to meet you but now I'm going to take my wife away from you, if you'll excuse me."

We say goodbyes quickly. As we start moving away from the table I can hear them saying things like 'Oh my God, he's so sexy' and 'He's so handsome' and 'It's so cute that he surprised her'. We look at each other and laugh and as soon as we move away from them just a little bit, he kisses me, his hands framing my face. I put my hands on his arms, slowly move them up his biceps, and then he ends the kiss.

"I missed you." He repeats.

"So you said." I take one last look at the girls to see them clapping their hands enthusiastically and smiling like they just watched their favorite movie couple share a kiss. I shake my head in amusement and turn to keep walking next to Alex.

"I think you just gained a fan club."

"There's only one fan I want." He says kissing my hand.

"Where's Grace?" I stop and shake my head in utter shock. "I can't believe I just asked you about her!"

"She's with Dylan and Emma. Do you think I'll leave her alone?" We keep walking.

"No, of course not. But they were leaving today."

"They were happy to stay one more day. Actually, I believe Emma said 'That is so romantic!' And before you ask, yes, I fed her lunch before giving her sweets. Dylan has instructions of doing the same for dinner." He smiles proudly. "She made a cake for you, though, and honestly I have no idea how it turned out. So you'll know tomorrow."

"Aww, my sweet Grace."

We arrive at the beachfront balcony next to the ballroom. From here we can feel the sea breeze. Alex wraps his arms around me from behind, enveloping me in a hug. My back is pressed to his front, and the breeze is blowing my hair away from my face.

"Thank you for coming here. I hated that I had to spend one night away from you." I confess.

"You're welcome." He releases me and spins me around, holding my hands at arm's length and moving back so he can look at me.

"You look spectacular."

Then he pulls me closer. Our breaths mingling together. He combs his fingers through my hair and holds my face pressing our foreheads together. I close the distance touching my lips to his. We kiss slowly for a few minutes, lips nipping and tongues meeting, but the kiss turns into something else quickly; desire and want. We are breathing way too fast.

"I have a terrace in my room. It's my boss' room, is a really good room." I say stupidly.

"Let's go."

* * *

As soon as I have her pressed against the wall inside her hotel room, I decide I don't want to rush this, it feels too good to end it too soon. I take a few deep breaths and take her hands that are currently wound up around my neck and bring them to my lips, kissing them.

"I really love this dress on you."

"You've seen it before."

"I know." I place a lingering kiss on her lips. Walk her backwards to the terrace until we're outside. I press her between the rail of the balcony and my body and start kissing her collarbone and neck. My hands go under her skirt and she raises her leg up, wrapping it around my hip. I touch her through her panties already soaked.

"Alex…"

I wanted to prolong the tension but the way she's moving against me is making it almost impossible.

"Alex, please take me to bed." She shudders in my arms and that's all it takes for my will to dissolve. I can't ever deny her.

We go inside leaving the door to the balcony open. My hands go around her back lowering the zipper there and her beautiful dress falls quickly to the floor. We divest each other of our clothing. Even though I'm especially loving her in the strapless bra and tiny black panties she's wearing, I love her more without them.

She straddles me as soon as we get into bed, and after a few teasing rubs, lowers herself on me.

This feels so amazing tonight that I'm scared it may end too soon on my part, so I start talking, trying to slow us down a little.

"Do you remember when we first met?" I ask her while my hands grab her hips. She keeps moving on top of me unfazed.

"Yes… ah! Yes!" Maybe she's not as cool and collected as I thought.

"Remember when you told me about my bedroom curtains?" She gasps as her movements quickens, her hips crashing with force against mine.

"Oh yes." I reach for her, wanting to feel her closer. She buries her head on my neck, grabbing my shoulders for support. "Remember when you asked me to marry… ahhh you."

"And when… oh god Alex, then you kissed me…" I flip us over, surprising her. I swallow her gasp kissing her ferociously.

"The first time we… ahh, Norma, when we slept together…" I grunt as I drive my hips into her body.

"Remember… oh Alex, when I told you I loved you." She whimpers and wraps her arms and legs tightly around me.

"Norma…"

I can hear in the distance the waves crashing. The lulling sound coming in through the open window. In here, there's a storm raging, our bodies engaged in the whirlwind of passion, desperately crashing and at the same time surviving. She is my powerful tempest, my unexpected windstorm, my beautiful hurricane, and she is my life.

"Harder." She demands and I oblige.

Then she goes quiet, like the silence after the storm, and then she comes in my arms with a strangled cry that pierces the stillness of the room. I feel her flutter around me and I follow her into a sweet release, happy to drown on her welcoming shores.

* * *

"Wake up, sleepyhead!"

I open my eyes and for a moment don't recognize the big room but then a familiar face comes into my line of vision; shining big blue eyes and pink lips smiling at me.

"Hi."

"Hi, yourself." I grab her neck and kiss her, suddenly remembering everything about last night, but when I try to pull her to bed she resists.

"Come on, we still have time for breakfast and a walk on the beach. I have to find a seashell for Grace."

I reluctantly get out of bed, shower and get dressed. Norma has already packed her things. I have to wear the same clothes as last night, minus the jacket and tie, and I roll the sleeves of my white dress shirt, leaving the top buttons undone. I can tell Norma approves of my makeshift outfit by the way her eyebrow rises and her eyes scan over me. But she has already made up her mind and we leave the room.

Norma is happily walking barefoot in the sand, looking down trying to find a seashell. As I look at her in her blue dress, it dawns on me she looks the same color of the beach; her eyes and dress, the sea. Her hair; the sun. I met her by the old place inaptly called Seafairer. I went to the Florida coast to get her back. We shared a brief honeymoon on a Santa Barbara beach. Then we moved to Seaside, and we live close to the beach much to hers and our daughter's delight. It's perfect that we're here, by the sea again.

Suddenly she picks up a seashell. "Alex! Look, this one is empty. It has the sound of the sea inside." She presses it next to my ear.

"Grace will love it." She smiles happily at the mention of our daughter.

"Remember Florida?" She asks.

I nod. "Don't faint again."

"I'll try. But if I do, will you catch me?"

"Always."

She wraps her hands around the back of my neck. My hands go around her back, one going further down to her backside, keeping her close to me. We kiss for what feels an eternity.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Norma."

"Forever?"

"Forever."

* * *

 **The End.**

* * *

 **A/N: So this is it. It's been a very emotional ride for me to write this story, and as we're beginning to approach the end of our dear series, even more so.**

 **I debated whether to give Dylemma a kid or not, but I loved that name and I had to use it and it made sense only for them. Also, I personally do not think Titanic is 'of the most romantic movies ever made', but I do think Emma would. :)**

 **Very big thanks to GeneHarlow and solveariddle. Your talent amazes me! Thanks a lot for being an inspiration and for your marvelous stories! I just hope you like mine as much as I do yours. Great minds… ;)**

 **Thanks again for accepting and embracing this story, this world I imagined, and loving it as much as I did. I'm literally crying as I type this because, one: I'm a big cry baby, two: I can't believe I achieved something like this, and that you liked it, and three: well, because I love Norma and Alex.**

 **See you guys on the next story.**


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